The Luck of the Draw
by ReidGarciaFan
Summary: Caitlin flies a charter to Egypt and runs into the last person on earth she ever expected to run into to kicking off a new take on Airwolf with the same characters we know and love but set in today's time.
1. Chapter 1

_Long Author's Note to give background: This story is set in modern times and has some differences from the 1980s version. ln my mind it's still the same cast just…set in today's time. Maybe a little younger than the 1_ _st_ _season though to make fit my timeline better._ _String is 33 born 1984 (yes, the year the original show premiered) spent 8 years in military, came home without his beloved brother Saint John or Sinjin who went MIA/POW in 2004 Afghanistan. Also changed his dog's name to Scout because it wouldn't fit to have it named Tet in 2017._

 _Sinjin is 35 born 1982 went MIA in 2004 – 6 months POW – Special Operations rescue, joined the group – has tried many times to get messages to family via several sources. Some messages get thru partially giving Hawke hopes that his brother is still alive. Sinjin himself looks like a taller, blonder JMV with maybe a more rounded jaw, giving them both the look of brothers but still enough difference. I'm sorry but Barry Van Dyke just…no. So, my Sinjin looks more like his brother._

 _Cait is 28 born 1989 – she came to Santini Air the same way as in the original show, she's been there about a year and a half._

 _Dom is 66 went to Vietnam in 1969-1975 – best friends with Sarah and Jameson Hawke the boy's parents. Sarah and Jameson Hawke died in 1994 in the Northridge earthquake figured it was convenient to use an actual natural disaster that perfectly fit the timeline than just some boating accident. Always thought it was weird for Hawke to live at the place his parents died._

 _Sinjin joined army in 2000 at age 18 String joined 2002 as soon as he turned 18, changing his career choice after 9/11/01. He'd planned on college but only attended a short time before 9/11 occurred and left to join Army._

 _One major difference is, Hawke doesn't feel cursed as much as feeling responsible for losing his brother and focused and determined to find him, disregarding his own personal life. So, he keeps people at a distance because he is so focused on finding Sinjin._

 _The FIRM is an off shoot of the National Reconnaissance Office (a real agency declassified in 1992) – Hawke never needed to steal Airwolf, he works for the NRO and the FIRM. So, no Moffett or Gabrielle. Because of too many attempts at stealing Airwolf Michael arranged with Hawke to keep its location secret and keep the FIRM and NRO projects/missions only going thru him and his trusted team. Dom and Cait are part of that team._

 _Michael is a Desert Storm veteran and FIRM agent for the NRO and Hawke's "handler" his injuries come from an IED in Desert Storm._

 _I am not much of an action writer, so if you are looking for amazing aerial battles and espionage…this may not be the story for you. I tried to do what I could on the military research but I have never served, my dad is a Vietnam vet but he was Navy not Army so I hope I get everything right. I commend those who have and appreciate their service. If I get things wrong, do know I tried to do my research._

 _Disclaimer: Obviously, this is written for fun, relaxation and makes no money. The characters and original premise belong to Donald Bellisario and CBS Television. I was a huge fan as a kid and JMV was my first crush. In fact, on my 12_ _th_ _birthday my cousin gave me an Airwolf poster with JMV and Airwolf on it. My aunt and mom were standing there when I opened it, and my mom said, "Hmm, I sure wouldn't mind his shoes under my bed." She didn't know dad was behind her and he blurted out, "Not while I'm in it by God!" haha So, my mom thought JMV was a good-looking man too._

Luck of the Draw – Chapter 1

Caitlin O'Shannessy had never visited Egypt before so when the chance came up for her and Kevin to fly a private charter jet to Cairo with University of Southern California students going to the American Research Center in Egypt she leapt at it gratefully.

Her boss Dominic Santini was unable to take the trip as he had too many things going on and the other senior pilot, Stringfellow Hawke was committed to a film stunt that he couldn't rearrange. So, the charter had fallen to the two youngest pilots at Santini Air.

Caitlin had far more flight hours than Kevin but he was her backup for the flight.

It was a routine charter but she'd never had the chance to fly in this part of the world on a charter flight plus get the chance to spend a few days in Egypt! It was such an awesome thing that she hardly even thought of it as work it was like an all-expenses paid vacation. She'd only be there a couple of days to wait on one of the professors to wrap things up at research center and then fly him and a few other returning students back to California but two days in Cairo for free? She'd take it.

She was enjoying the stay in Egypt more than Kevin who just wanted to get home to his girlfriend, they had just moved in together so they were in a sort of honeymoon phase. Caitlin had gotten a chance to visit a few museums, one she dragged Kevin to but the second day he just wanted to stick close to his hotel room. He wasn't all that into the whole experience and spent most of the time on his phone texting of using Facetime with his girlfriend, Cindy.

Caitlin wished that Hawke had been able to come. He would have been interested in the museums and art at least plus, she always loved spending time with the handsome pilot who had saved her life more than once in the last year and a half.

She put on a headscarf, even though it wasn't needed it made it easier for her to feel as if she could blend in since bright strawberry red hair wasn't common in Egypt. She also wore a long sleeved loose oatmeal colored linen shirt and comfortable khaki pants with comfortable shoes because she knew it would just make things easier. She didn't want to draw attention to herself, especially since Kevin didn't want to go out with her today. Not having him with her, Caitlin knew it would be easier to try to blend in and just not be noticed. She put on a pair of sunglasses and headed out to check out the other museum she wanted to visit.

Things were going just fine, she'd stopped in the open-air market to buy a few souvenirs and a snack. Then she was off to the museum but something made her pause, she felt as if she was being watched or more accurately followed. It could be someone targeting her as a tourist to steal money at least she hoped so. She made sure to weave through the crowd hoping to throw them off and then slipped down an ally that wound back around to the museum she was headed to.

Caitlin didn't have a weapon on her and wished she'd thought to grab hers from her flight bag. She did have her cell phone though, and she pulled up Kevin's contact info onto the screen ready to dial if she had to.

When she arrived at the museum, Caitlin figured it was safe enough, it had a crowd and security so hopefully she would be okay and let her guard down a little. Maybe the thief would find a different target now amongst the other tourists.

She walked around a corner in the museum to look at the next display and walked smack into the broad chest of a man. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said quickly and tried to back pedal but the man grabbed her arm as if to balance her.

"That's okay," an American accent said making her feel a little more at ease.

She looked up but there wasn't much she could tell about the man. Blonde streaked light brown hair, full beard, sunglasses though they were inside and a tan baseball cap. She tugged her arm back a little and the man grinned at her.

"Are you Caitlin O'Shannessy?" he asked.

Caitlin took another step back from him trying to pull her arm away from the firm but not painful grip, that he finally released. "How do you know my name?"

"I don't mean to scare you, I've been looking for you. I need to speak with you about Stringfellow Hawke and Dominic Santini," he said.

"What do you want?" she asked warily. Worried this was going to end up a play for Airwolf…again.

"Just to talk. I need you to deliver them something for me. Can…can we go back to your hotel to talk? This isn't exactly the best place for this," the man said looking around.

"Listen bud, I have no clue who you are and I am not going to take some strange man back to my hotel room, just how stupid do you think I am?," she said with her hands settling on her hips.

The man had the gall to smile at her. The thing was the smile seemed familiar for some reason. He took off his sunglasses then and Caitlin gasped. She knew those eyes anywhere, those gorgeous baby blue eyes she fell for in Pope County stared out at her from a vaguely familiar face under all that beard and hair anyway. The click in her head from photos she'd seen was almost painful.

"Sinjin?" she whispered.

"Now, will you take me back to your hotel to talk? I don't have too much time," Sinjin said as he put the shades back on.

"Oh, my Lord, yeah…yeah. You're whose been following me, aren't you?"

"You knew?"

"I felt it, yeah. I used to be a cop," she said with a shrug.

"Yeah, I know," he almost cringed at the look she sent his way at that answer. "Come on, I'll explain everything when we're in a private place," Sinjin said then as they fell into step together.

Caitlin didn't know what to think, Hawke had been looking for his brother for 12 years and now this. He obviously wasn't a POW but she knew this was him. No one could possibly have those same eyes. He was taller than his younger brother by a few inches with slightly broader shoulders to fit his height but he had a very similar walk and the same smile and those same eyes. It was Saint John Hawke, there wasn't any doubt of that in her mind.

When they entered her hotel room, Caitlin stripped off the scarf over her hair and threw it on the dresser along with her sunglasses as she turned to face the man.

"You've got a hell of a lot of explaining to do, you know that, right? Your brother has been looking for you for twelve years, do you know how hard it has been on him? Then you show up, following me around claiming you need to tell me something? I'm not the one you should be talkin' to, buddy!" Caitlin said angrily with her hands on her hips, her blue-green eyes flashing. This man had caused the man she loved incredible pain and heartache and she wasn't going to let him off easy.

"Whoa there, Red," Sinjin said throwing his hands up, "I said I'd explain and I plan to if you'll give me half the chance!"

"Fine. But I'm telling you right now, Saint John Hawke that you have hurt two of the best men I know, Dom and String have been shattered thinkin' you are still a POW in Afghanistan so you better have a damn good explanation. String thinks it's HIS fault that you got captured you know!" Caitlin was angry now she'd had time to think on their walk back to her room and she wasn't able to keep from saying the words. She loved Stringfellow Hawke and Dominic Santini and she didn't care if Sinjin was their family, he didn't have a right to hurt them.

To his credit, Sinjin did recoil and frown deeply when the little redheaded spitfire lit into him. She really did care about String and Dom and she wasn't afraid to let him have it. Part of him was grateful that his family had such a loyal friend in Caitlin.

"Look, I know I deserved all that but will you give me the opportunity to explain?"

"Then start talkin'!" Caitlin said in a huff, her Texas twang a bit more pronounced when she was angry. Caitlin plopped down on her bed and gave him an expectant stare.

Sinjin grabbed a chair and pulled it over to sit in front of her, he took off his cover and sunglasses and tossed them on the bed beside her and took his battered messenger bag strap over his head and set it on the floor by his booted feet.

"String did see me get captured but it wasn't his fault, I certainly never blamed him. I ordered him out of there, his bird couldn't take on any more weight and we had more Apache's and Blackhawks coming in. I thought I'd be on the next transport but we were overrun. I spent 6 months in a Taliban camp along with three other guys that were captured that day, they were with the 10th Mountain Division, I was the only pilot that had been taken because I'd gotten shot down. A Special Operations Group that was a mix of the best of several military units managed to get us out. I had helped quite a bit during the extraction and their commanding officer took a liking to me. He made me an offer to join their group. The only catch was I had to remain MIA on the books. No one could know but it was killing me not to tell String where I was or that I was still alive. I've tried to get messages to him via several untraceable methods over the years but I have no idea if they ever got through. From your reaction today, I guess they never got to him," Sinjin said with a heavy sigh.

"Not exactly," Caitlin admitted. "A few partial messages got to him, a letter that was almost illegible by the time he got it and an audio file was brought to him by a guy named Derek Francis a few years ago," Caitlin went on to explain.

"The audio file was pretty bad quality but it was the best I could do in a rush, I'm sorry the letter wasn't in better shape. I can't just pick up any unsecured phone and I can't ask my superiors to let me call, it is against the rules. I can't write a letter or send an email…I have to remain MIA or dead to anyone who knew me before, at least until my mission is over. No one knew this war was going to take this damn long," Sinjin said sounding a lot like his younger brother when his anger got the better of him.

Caitlin softened a little at that. "Despite the rules, you still want to try to let them know you're alive. Sorry I was so hard on you earlier," she said reaching out to touch his hands that were clasped together in front of him. His elbows were on his knees and his head was down, staring at the floor. He looked up as porcelain fingertips landed on his dark tan hands. His blue eyes were filled with remorse and anger and Caitlin offered a small smile.

"How did you find out about me being here and being friends with them?"

"I set up a software program that would flag any passports of anyone working at Santini Air. I figured someday someone would have a charter at least within a few hundred miles of somewhere I might be working. You and Kevin pinged for me the day before yesterday and I headed here from Jordan. I am not supposed to be here, if my superiors find out I could get in a shit load of trouble but I had to take the chance. I came to you because I saw you were an ex-cop, figured it would be easier to deal with you than Kevin who didn't seem to have much background other than being a young kid, college dropout and a pilot. Besides, pretty girl like you…figured my brother and you," he shrugged.

Caitlin blushed and shook her head. "No, String and I are just friends," she sighed.

The sigh got Sinjin's attention then. "You wish it was more than that?" he asked with a grin.

"He's too wrapped up in feeling guilty about you and pushing everyone else away. He doesn't really pay much attention to his personal life. He comes down from that mountain of his just enough to help Dom and occasionally watch an old movie at my place," Caitlin explained sadly. "Sinjin, you may not have meant to hurt your brother but he stopped living that day you disappeared and he really hasn't come back from that in 12 years."

Sinjin hung his head guiltily at that. He and String had been closer than close and he knew it would have been hard on String but he had no idea none of his messages had gotten through. "I thought for sure some of my messages had gotten to him. I tried a lot of times and I wrote him and Dom letters I couldn't even mail. I was hoping…that you could take them to them."

"Oh, Sinjin, yes. But how about something better than letters, something faster?"

"I can't take that risk, Caitlin," he said shaking his head.

"My cell phone is secure, Sinjin, you aren't the only one who works for a secret agency," she said with a grin. "Apparently the apples landed pretty close together under that tree after all. Your brother works for an agency under the NRO purview. String, Dom and myself all three do. You can use my cell to contact them," Caitlin explained.

Sinjin's eyes widened and he looked at her strangely. "None of the background checks I did turned up anything like that," he admitted.

"Well, this agency isn't supposed to exist, I mean they only declassified the NRO in '92 and they still have things that are highly classified. We work on one of those projects together. Let me call, String, please?"

"Yeah, yeah…if you're sure it can't be traced in any way," Sinjin said excited at the prospect of finally getting to hear his brother's voice after so long.

Stringfellow Hawke was awakened by the ring of his cell phone. He rolled over in bed and reached for the phone wondering who the hell was calling him at this hour. When he saw it was Caitlin, he sat up worriedly in his bed as he answered.

"Cait, it's three in the morning, is something wrong?" Hawke asked gruffly, still sounding sleepy.

Caitlin bit her lip. "I'm sorry, Hawke, I…I didn't even think of the time difference but this is important," she said quickly.

The words 'but this is important' woke him up even more. "Cait, what is it?" His tone was worried and Caitlin felt her heart skip a little from that. He at least cares, he may not feel the way she did but he did care about her.

"Nothing bad, this is…oh, String it's really good," she said happily.

That got his attention even more, she hardly ever called him String. Usually Hawke and on a very rare occasion 'ass hat' but that one always made him laugh. "Well, if you are going to wake a man at…3:22 in the morning it better be very good news," he said sarcastically as he looked at his watch. She had the nerve to giggle.

"Someone wants to talk to you, trust me, you'll not care that I interrupted your beauty sleep," she teased and handed the phone to Sinjin who was suddenly nervous as hell.

Sinjin took the phone from her small hand and cleared his throat as he put it to his ear. "Uh, hey there little brother," he said into the phone. He was met with several seconds of dead silence.

Hawke sat there stunned to his core. He knew that voice, it was like hearing a ghost on the phone. "Sinj?" he asked in a voice that barely sounded like his own he was so stunned.

String heard a huge sigh on the other end of the phone, "Yeah, I've been trying to get messages to you for a long time, kid," he said his voice rough with emotion. "I didn't know they weren't getting to you."

Tears welled in Stringfellow Hawke's eyes. "How…what… where the hell have you been?" he finally blurted out, part of him elated, part of him pissed off, where the hell had he been? Why couldn't he contact him? It was 2017 for God's sake not 1917.

"Hell is probably cooler, I've been here in the Middle East all this time. It's a long story, String. I was captured but when a special ops group got me out they offered me a job. The only catch was I had to remain MIA. I didn't like it but that was the terms and I really wanted to do the job. What I'm doing is important, String but they demand no contact with anyone who knew me back home or even over here. I was given a new name and everything and went to work for them. I didn't like not contacting you though and I tried to get messages out at least a dozen times in different ways. I couldn't use the phone or email, nothing that could be traced in any way. Caitlin told me only one letter and one audio file made it to you in all this time. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, String. I thought for sure some of my messages had made it. I been tracking anyone working at Santini, hoping one day one of ya'll would have a charter close by anywhere I was working. When Caitlin's passport pinged for Egypt I headed here to find her. And I gotta tell you little brother, you've got quite the tigress to protect you. She reamed me good about not contacting you and Dom before now," Sinjin explained.

String just sat there in his bed, caught up in the sound of a voice he never thought he'd get to hear again. "You've been trying to find a way to contact me and I've been trying to find a way to find you all this time," Hawke said in disbelief.

"Sounds like it. I am going to have to get back to Jordan soon or I'm going to be in a shit heap of trouble but I had to take this chance. I am giving a box to Caitlin to bring to you. It has letters, a couple of USB sticks and discs with videos and explanations I've wanted to give for a long time. When I accepted this gig, I had no idea how long this war was gona last. I'm in deep undercover and I can't get out just yet. It is too important, I have a duty, String. I've gotta follow it through, I just needed you to know that I never blamed you, ya know? Not one moment. You had a job to do and so did I. So, stop blaming yourself okay? I know you and I know how you get. I'm okay, I'm alive and I'm going to come home as soon as I get this damn op finished."

"You better, you just keep yourself alive and come home when it is all done. We'll leave a candle burning," Hawke answered. "My God, everyone kept telling me you were probably dead but I never believed it. Never."

"I'm sorry, in your shoes I wouldn't either. You keep that candle burnin', little brother. I love you, kid and tell Dom I miss him and love him too," Sinjin said emotion almost choking him.

"I love you too…can I talk to Cait for a second?" Hawke asked, emotion making his voice strained.

Hawke heard Sinjin tell Caitlin that he wanted to talk to her. He heard her sniffle as she took the phone, obviously she was crying over the reunion.

"Hey, you," Hawke said softly, grateful to her and unable to process all the rest of what he was feeling.

"Hey, told you it was really good news," she said laughing a little.

"Thank you, Caitlin, you have no idea how grateful I am," he said honestly. That redheaded Texas girl had done so much for him over the last year and a half and this, even if Sinjin had been the one to seek her out, still, it meant so much to him that it was her bridging that gap.

"Hey, I just drew the lucky straw getting to come to Egypt is all," she said lightly. "I better let you get some rest, don't you have that stunt today at Universal?"

"Yeah, we did the test run yesterday, I think it'll go smoothly," Hawke told her.

"Good, you guys be careful and I'll see you in a day or two. I'll be bearing gifts. You and Dom take care," she added wishing she could say love you instead.

"You take care too." She hung up feeling a little lost, wishing she could offer String some comfort she knew he probably needed. It had to be a lot for him to process right now.

Caitlin looked up at Sinjin who was standing in the middle of the hotel room seemingly a little lost with his cap and sunglasses in his hands again.

"You need anything? I have some bottled water," Caitlin offered.

"No, I'm good. God, it was good to hear his voice. Thank you for that Caitlin," Sinjin said honestly.

"I just didn't think it would be right to wait to tell him until I got back home, ya know? Besides you guys needed to talk to each other, it has been far too long. Do you want to stay for a while? You look like you could use a bit of rest," Caitlin offered kindly.

"I can't stay, I really do need to get back quickly," he answered wishing he could stay. He bent down and took a battered box out of his pack, it had been wrapped multiple times in tape. "Give this to String when you get home, huh?"

"I will," Caitlin agreed.

"I better get going now. Thanks again, Caitlin."

"Wait," Caitlin said and walked over to him. "Since String and Dom aren't here to do it," she murmured and wrapped her arms around him. She gave him a good squeeze and he returned the hug, thinking about what a sweet girl she seemed to be. His embrace felt very similar to the ones she'd shared with his brother over the last year and a half. They were so similar but yet, so different. Sinjin seemed to have a bit more humor than String but then, String has been so focused on Sinjin over the years she figured his good humor was buried deep inside. Maybe all this would change that? Only time would tell.

"Hey, if that kid brother of mine doesn't snap you up soon, when I finally get out state side I might just have to ask you to dinner and a dance," Sinjin teased.

Caitlin smiled up at him, her blue-green eyes sparkling. "We'll see, Mr. Saint John Hawke…we'll have to wait and see. Stay safe."

"That's the plan!" he said as he left.

Caitlin stood at the closed door with the box in her hands still wondering if it had all been a dream.

Her phone pinged and she looked down to see a message from String. "I'll meet you when you get home. Call when you take off."

She smiled. "Will do, Sinjin gave me a package for you and Dom. I'll keep it with me in my flightbag in the cockpit. You try to get some more rest if you can. I worry you know."

"I know."

He had no idea how much that phrase meant to her. It was what made her fall hard for him in the Pope county jail a year and a half ago. Him standing there all roughed up in a jail cell no less and still so damn handsome it took her breath away and she'd just threatened him. Told him that if he was lying to her that she'd make what the sheriff did to him feel like 'love taps'. His answer of "I know," was what stole her heart that very moment. It was silly but it really was that moment, he seemed so incredibly certain that she'd do exactly what she said. He didn't laugh it off, joke about it or make a chauvinistic comment, he just agreed. No other man had ever made her feel so worthy, especially when inside she was scared to death of the Sherriff.

Caitlin called the research center then to ask when the professor would be ready for the return charter, he said he and two other students would be ready that evening if she wanted to fly them back that night. She set the time with him and then called Kevin to let him know and then the airport to get her flightplan logged. By the time she'd done all that it was midafternoon and she called room service for a late lunch.

Her eyes fell on Sinjin's package, it looked like it had been to hell and back and maybe, it had. It looked as if it had been sealed and resealed many times and looked like it had been squashed a couple times too. He must have carried it for years. Thinking he could hand it off to someone but never able to. It looked as if he had opened it repeatedly to add a letter or something to it.

Her heart ached for both the Hawke brothers. She knew what it was like to love your siblings, she loved hers dearly but knew it was different for them.

They'd lost their parents in the 1994 Northridge earth quake and Dom had been their guardian ever since. He had loved those boys like his own sons and had raised them to be honorable men. All the two boys had was each other as far as blood relatives went and that being separated so long had been hard. She knew String had put his entire life on hold to chase any rumor of Sinjin being alive and it looked now like Sinjin had done what he could to try to let his brother know he really was still alive.

Caitlin ran her hands through her hair and flopped down on her bed to wait on room service. What a crazy but amazing day. She had seen pictures of Sinjin and String when they were younger, they bore a remarkable resemblance to one another. You could easily tell they were siblings. Sinjin was a few inches taller and blonder than String and with his time in the sun here in the Middle East he was much blonder than even in those old photos. He was extremely tanned and he had the same smile and slightly fuller lips but almost the exact same eyes.

String's hair had darkened to a warm chestnut shade with hints of blonde when the sun caught it and his cheekbones were higher, his jaw a little squarer than Sinjin's had been in the photos. All in all, the Hawke brothers were both handsome guys.

She couldn't tell how much Sinjin might have changed under all that fuzz on his face but she imagined he wore it not just for blending in but also to keep from looking too young. String was still rather baby faced even at 33 years old you didn't notice it often because he was such a brooding man sometimes but when he smiled, really smiled, he looked years younger than he was.

She remembered a photo of Dom in the office with Jameson Hawke and he too had a very youthful face for a man his age. String had his mother's high cheekbones and love of art and music but everything else on both brothers was all their father.

The knock at the door for room service got her attention and Caitlin drug herself off the bed and out of her thoughts as she answered the door. She was just biding her time now until they left. She couldn't wait to get home to String and Dom with her precious package.


	2. Chapter 2

See chapter 1 for background and disclaimers. 😊

 **Sleepless in California – Chapter 2**

After the early morning phone call between he and Sinjin, String couldn't go back to sleep so he got up, showered, shaved, made a pot of coffee and took his dog Scout for a walk.

He thought about Sinjin and what he said about trying to contact him and realized that the few messages he did manage to get were real after all. Michael had worried that they were attempts to rile him up or even get at Airwolf but now he knew the truth. They really were from his brother.

Sinjin said he didn't blame him but he couldn't help blaming himself. Sinjin wouldn't have been captured if String just stayed longer. But then, he might have been shot down and the men he was rescuing at the time would have been sitting ducks hanging on those ropes. He had no choice, he knew that in his head but his heart had been broken leaving his brother in that dusty hell hole. That guilt would likely always live inside him.

He'd stayed for another tour, hoping he could find his brother and never did. It seemed like every time he had a lead on where he might be it would slip away. Now he understood why, the powers that be didn't want him to find his brother because it would have blown his cover. He inadvertently was putting his brother in danger and hadn't even realized it. He didn't understand why with the job he had, that no one had thought to tell him. Just a hey, he's okay, he's working something top secret, just pretend he's still MIA. It wasn't like String didn't have his own top-secret clearance and could keep a damn secret.

Now that he and Cait knew the truth though, he wasn't about to keep it from Dom. He also needed to talk to Michael but he wasn't sure if he should tell them now or wait until Caitlin got back with more proof than a phone call. His thoughts were interrupted when Dom arrived, landing his patriotic JetRanger on the doc. Hawke ran over and got in and Dom looked at him taking in how tired he already looked and the day had just started.

"You look like you didn't get much sleep, kid," Dom commented.

"I've been up since shortly after three," Hawke admitted. "Dom, there is something I need to tell you."

"Talk away, kid, we've got an hour before we make it to the hanger."

Hawke decided to make sure he was ready to take over control if what he had to say put Dom into too much shock to fly. "Well, you see it started with a phone call from Cait this morning…"

Hawke did have to take over flying for Dom because the man had broken down in tears. His eldest boy was still alive!

Twelve years they'd been hoping and for twelve years he'd held onto that hope because String wouldn't give up but a part of him was sure one day the Army would call and say they were sending home a casket. Even now, they still might. That kid was still there, he was still fighting and he was still doing what he felt was the right thing.

Hawke was quiet while his father figure worked to regain his composure.

"So, he found our girl and she's bringing home a package from him. Imagine that, I wonder what Cait thought? She must have been floored by it all," Dom asked.

"She was happy on the phone, I could tell she'd been crying, I figured she was just happy for us," Hawke said with a shrug. "Sinjin was real impressed with her, said she reamed him good for not contacting us until she learned the full story. Called her a tigress," Hawke said with a grin.

"Oh, she is. She looks all cute and sweet but under all that is a lady tough as nails. I bet she did give him some of that Texas sass," Dom said with a laugh.

Hawke found himself laughing a little too. Caitlin could be fierce when she wanted to be, especially if she felt someone had been wronged. Her sense of loyalty, honor and duty were some of the things that Hawke loved about her. He was starting to realize that the love he felt for her as friendship was much deeper than that too. He didn't just love things about her, he loved *her*and in far more than a friendship or brotherly way.

She was pretty, sweet, kind, loyal, sassy, fierce, funny and smart and to top it all off a damn good pilot. Stringfellow Hawke was beginning to realize that Caitlin O'Shannessy was the kind of woman he had always wanted to spend his life with. He'd known that for about the last six months and was pretty sure he'd already fallen for her the day her met her in Texas.

The only thing that held him back from getting involved with her was that he wouldn't have been able to give her his full self. Too many other women he'd really liked had dumped him because he was too distracted with the search for his brother. Another part of him worried about the dangers of the two of them being a couple and working together with Airwolf. How do you send your girlfriend into a dangerous situation? Then again, he'd been in love with her and had to do it even without her knowing how he felt. It wasn't something he was going to figure out the answer to right away but a part of him thought that if Michael could deal with it with Marella then…maybe he and Caitlin could have a chance? Especially now.

Hawke wasn't certain how she felt but he knew she cared for him and suspected that it wasn't just his big black battleship with rotors that brought her to California. Though when he did think it was him that might have swayed her thinking he felt like an arrogant dick and would push the thought away. But there were signs that she felt more than just friendship for him.

Maybe now, knowing his brother is alive, knowing that he doesn't have to focus on finding him, maybe now he can find his own happiness? Happiness with Caitlin sounded like a really, really good idea and he was missing the perky redhead terribly, even before the call this morning.

The stunt that day went well with only one take thanks to the practice run the day before. If it hadn't been for that, the lack of sleep might have caused an issue on top of the fact Hawke was distracted.

The thing was Hawke was still so excited about Caitlin coming home with that package from Sinjin that he felt like he might not really sleep for days.

Once back at the hanger, it left Hawke feeling at loose ends and he took out some frustrations on a section of a bent tail rotor. When Caitlin called to let Dom know that she and Kevin were on their way back String had nearly been beside himself, Dom didn't seem to be faring much better. Plus, the two men could barely stop smiling at each other every time they caught the other's gaze. They were both like two kids waiting on Christmas.

Hawke didn't even return to the cabin that night, opting to sleep on the cot in the hanger. Dom tried to get him to go home with him but Hawke wanted to be there when Caitlin landed. Dom understood his boy just needed the alone time and said he'd be back in the morning.

Just as the sun was starting to rise, Hawke was standing outside the hanger watching as Caitlin expertly landed the Gulfstream jet. He waited while her passengers disembarked and the van from the university picked them up. He walked to the steps and patted Kevin on the shoulder as he went by. The kid was already on his way home to see his live-in girlfriend Cindy. Hawke just smiled at him and took the steps two at a time. He saw Caitlin as she stepped out of the cockpit and she smiled that beautiful smile at him.

"You slept in the hanger, didn't you?" she asked, knowing him far too well.

Hawke rubbed the back of his neck with his hand and shrugged. "Yeah, I wanted to be here when you landed."

She walked over to him and stood in front of him for a moment and just looked at him for a few seconds. "The only reason I recognized Sinjin was because he took off his sunglasses. I knew those eyes," she said with a grin. "Come on, let's get inside so you can check out what he sent. I'm dying to know what all is in this box," she said holding up her flightbag.

Hawke took the bag from her and went down the steps ahead of her and then reached up to take her hand as she came down. They secured the stairs on the jet and then he wrapped his arm around her waist and walked her back to the hanger. "I sure did miss you around here," he admitted.

"You did? Well I missed my guys too. I take it the stunt went well yesterday?"

"Yep, one take," he said as he closed the hanger door behind them and followed her to Dom's office.

Caitlin went straight to the coffee pot and poured herself a cup and then riffled through the flightbag and handed him the box from Sinjin. "It looks like it has been through hell and back but that's how he gave it to me," she said with a shrug as Hawke took it from her hand. She took a sip of her coffee and settled on the small couch. "You're going to wait for Dom aren't you?"

"Yeah. He was pretty emotional yesterday when I told him about the call. I mean, technically he's our dad in all the ways that count, ya know," Hawke said with a shrug as he leaned against the desk.

"Wish I could have brought him home for you," Caitlin said sadly. "But at least now you have answers and more hope than ever because he really is okay after all. I was actually pretty mad at him at first to be honest."

"Yeah, he said you lit into him. Thanks for that…for caring as much as you do," Hawke said with a smile as his fingers rubbed over the worn box.

"Always," she said with a smile.

They heard the door open to the outer hanger and Dom coming, "Ah, Cait! You're a sight for sore eyes, Kevin already head home?"

"Hey, Dom," she said getting up and throwing her arms around the older man. "He wanted to get home to his Cindy, that's all he wanted to talk about was Cindy this and Cindy that…man he's got it bad," she laughed.

"First major girlfriend and all that," Hawke said with a grin.

"Is that it?" Dom asked as he turned from Cait's embrace to look at the box in String's hands.

"Yep, Sinjin apparently carried that box for years, opening adding to it, resealing, trying to hand it off to someone, keeping it, opening it again and adding more. Poor guy. He rushed non-stop to Egypt from Jordan, gave it to me, called String and then rushed back. I uh, I kinda think he was AWOL," Caitlin explained.

String and Dom both looked like little boys at Christmas and finally Caitlin picked up a pair of scissors off the desk. "Will one of you please open it?"

Hawke looked at Dom and they both nodded to each other as he took the scissors from Caitlin. "Here goes," he said as he began to cut away the layers of tape.

When he got the box open, Hawke dumped the contents onto the desk. It had dozens of sealed and addressed envelopes, small and large along with three USB sticks and two CD's or DVD's he wasn't sure which. They were unmarked except for dates. The envelopes had numbers written on them.

"He numbered the letters so you'd know what order to read them in," Caitlin said as she looked them over. Some were addressed to Dom and some to String. Oddly enough, one was addressed to her dated the day before yesterday.

"This one has my name…he wrote it before he met me," Caitlin said looking up at the two men.

"He must have written while on whatever transport he got from Jordan," Hawke said after a moment. "Open it, I'd like to know what he said to you."

"Okay, well…here goes," Caitlin said opening it and unfolding the short letter inside. "It says, Dear Caitlin, if you are reading this then I must have found you and gotten the package to you. I want to thank you for what you are doing for me. Just know that I appreciate it and try to keep String and Dom out of trouble for me, okay? If you ever need a favor and I'm ever back state side…I'm your man. Thanks again, Sinjin Hawke."

Hawke smiled and she handed the letter to him. "That's his handwriting all right," String said and handed it to Dom who also nodded.

"He was really okay?"

"Yeah, a little furry," Caitlin said with a laugh at the looks they gave her. "He's got this big beard, probably part of his cover, I wouldn't have recognized him if he hadn't taken off his sunglasses. Like I said, I knew those eyes anywhere. He was very tan, dusty and looked exhausted but he assured me he was fine and just needed to get back to Jordan for his mission. I um, I gave him a hug for both of you," Caitlin added.

Hawke smiled at her and picked up one of the USB sticks. He went over to Dom's computer and put it in. "I want to read the letters but I wanna hear his voice again too," Hawke said as they all moved behind the desk to look at Dom's monitor.

The movie player loaded up and a somewhat dark and fuzzy image appeared. It got a little brighter as light was adjusted, the room it was shot in looked dark and not well furnished. A hovel really. Sinjin coughed a couple times and cleared his throat before he sat down in front of the camera. Hawke and Dom sucked in a breath at how he looked, longish hair nearly bleached completely blonde from the sun, a full beard and darkly tanned skin. He had a black eye and a split lip. He laughed a little. "Hey, little brother, Dom…I uh, don't look the greatest today, had a bad day yesterday. But you should see the other guy…" he joked and then took a drink from a thermos cup. "Anyway, today is June 19, 2014. I thought I'd take the chance to catch you up, been a while since I made one of these. Not that you've gotten any of the others," he said holding a couple of USB sticks up to the camera. The dilapidated box they had received from Caitlin was laying in the corner of the image and it didn't look as bad as it did now.

"Hoping I can get these to you sometime soon. Anyway, bad day yesterday. Kinda almost got blown up but I didn't and I managed to do what I had set out to do, mission accomplished. Woo-hoo," he said sarcastically. "I know I'm doing the right thing but days like today, I miss you guys. I know how close it was and I really don't want to die, I want to make it home, see you guys again and then die an old man asleep in my bed or I dunno, heart attack and keel over in my oatmeal or something. I don't want to buy it in this shit hole desert that's for sure." He coughed and cleared his throat again. "I look forward to coming home and going up to grandpa's cabin where its green and damp and no blowing sand. We could fish and just relax. It'd be nice to relax again. I heard some rumors you are still looking for me, I guess my letters I sent out with Stevie didn't make it. I found out yesterday his plane went down over the gulf. He was a good friend. Wish you'd gotten the chance to meet him." Gunfire erupted in the background and Sinjin turned toward the sound. "Well, hell. Guess I gotta go now. Love you." The picture went black and the file ended.

Caitlin slid her arm around Hawke as he stood behind Dom's chair. Dom was shaking with tears and Caitlin put her other hand on his shoulder. The next video loaded automatically.

It was in a better lit room, it looked like a hotel room of some kind. "Hey guys, well, I got a little R&R, I'm in a crappy hotel in Aman right now but it's probably the best digs I've had in a while. Today is January 5, 2015. I miss you guys, especially at Christmas I missed ya'll. It was lonely and cold up in the mountains, we ended up having a Christmas dinner of MRE's and some crushed candy canes that one of the guys got off a Marine whose kid sent them. Our group is back in the mountains again, searching out some insurgents and I had to meet up with them for some intel before I went back to my op. It's a pain in the ass all this sneaking around but I'm real close to wrapping up this project. I've just got a little more work to do and then I think some really bad hombre's will be toast, until the next one crops up anyway. It's like whack a mole out here or something, String. We get one warlord or terrorist group leader and up pops another. I'm starting to think this damn war is never going to end. But man, I'm all cheer and roses here aren't I? I just wanted to say Happy New Year and send you my love." The video ended and Dom stopped it before it loaded the next video.

"He's not the same anymore, my boy wasn't that sarcastic," Dom said sadly.

Hawke squeezed his shoulder. "War changes people, you know that better than anyone, Dom. He's been there fifteen years and most of it doing this undercover special ops stuff."

"He's still a kind man," Caitlin said. "He was kind to me and that's what matters right? He's not so jaded that he hasn't been trying to reach you here either. He still loves you both so much that he risked a lot to get this package to me. Sinjin is obviously homesick in these videos guys, he wants it all over so he can come home."

"And that's what he's holding on to," Hawke said after a moment. "Home, us, that is what is keeping him going over there, knowing that he can come home. Knowing we're here."

"I can't watch anymore this morning," Dom said after a moment. "I just want to go over there and bring him home. Like he's still a 13-year-old kid that I can protect. He's a grown man, he's doing what he feels is right and for the right reasons. I'm so proud of him but I wish I could tell him," Dom admitted.

"There might be a way," Caitlin said with a mischievous glint in her blue-green eyes. "Do you think it would be okay to bring Michael in on this?"

"I trust him," Hawke said. Dom frowned, he wasn't quite as trusting of Michael as String was but he knew the man wouldn't put any of them or Sinjin at risk.

"What's your plan, Cait?"

"Why not get him a phone like ours?"

"I dunno, it could get him in a lot of trouble," Hawke said after a moment.

"He obviously knows how to keep secrets and take care of himself, no one would have to know but him and us."

"We could at least ask Michael what his opinion is, he has other deep cover agents he works with. See how he could handle something like this," Hawke said. "But if it could risk Sinjin then I don't want to do it."

"No, of course not but it doesn't hurt to ask," Caitlin said softly. "I know you guys want more than one-way communication with him."

Hawke made the call to Michael and within an hour the man was at the hanger with Marella in tow. They had put a sign on the door that read "Closed for family emergency" and Michael came in with a worried look on his face.

"Family emergency? Who is hurt?" Michael asked swiftly walking into the office and leaning heavily on his cane from the exertion.

"No one is hurt but we have news," Hawke explained. They told the spies everything from Caitlin's meeting with Sinjin to the letters and USB drives and showed him the two videos they'd already watched.

"He has to be working under DIA," Marella said shaking her head. "That's the only explanation why we couldn't get this information on him."

"DIA?" Caitlin asked.

"Defense Intelligence Agency, it's a part of the DOD and tends to use a blend of talent from all military branches. Like the NRO in that sense and like the FIRM very hush, hush and very dangerous work. These guys are beyond best of the best. They get some amazing training, explosives, weapons, hand to hand, software and hardware training, intelligence training, all top of the line stuff. When he finally leaves after his ops are over he'll have his pick of any intelligence agency or weapons tech company in the nation. The whole alphabet soup will be clamoring for him to work for them," Michael explained.

"I was right when I said the apples fell close together under that tree," Caitlin teased as she looked at Hawke. He had the right characteristics for it as well and why the FIRM and NRO had picked him up, not to mention the fact he was probably the best natural pilot she'd ever seen in her life.

"I was actually approached by someone from DIA when I was in the hospital in Rammstein," Hawke admitted. "He was such an arrogant prick, I threw his card in the trash."

"Not surprising they'd want to snag you, Hawke," Michael said reasonably as he adjusted his glasses on his nose. "Just glad I was less of an arrogant prick so you signed on with us. So now that I know all this…what were you hoping to accomplish? I'm thrilled Sinjin is alive and well not happy he breached protocol to contact you but not my circus, not my monkey," Michael said honestly.

"Is there any way to get a FIRM cleared phone to him? So that he could sometimes contact home?" Caitlin asked.

"No. No. I'm not going to allow our friendship to put him in potential danger. He could get in a lot of trouble with his commanding officer or his handler over something like that. He's supposed to be MIA remember? That is a big part of his cover," Michael said firmly but felt himself wavering a little at the hurt puppy eyes Caitlin was giving him.

Marella put her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing at the look Caitlin was pouring on. It was just too damn funny.

"You can stop with the puppy eyes, Caitlin I'm not going to budge on this," Michael snapped and Hawke looked at the woman next to him and almost laughed. She was trying, that was for sure. He squeezed her a little tighter against his side.

"Maybe he's right, Cait. We don't want to screw things up for him, it was a nice idea but Sinjin could get in a ton of trouble and if he was caught by any of the terrorists he's working to bring down having a FIRM phone like that would really screw things for him," Hawke said as he thought about it more.

"Damn. I really thought it would help though, he just sounds so down on those recordings and I know Dom would love to talk to him," Caitlin said softly.

"It's okay, sweetheart. I just appreciate you wanting to try to help," Dom said patting her hand.

"There is one thing I can do," Michael said with a grin. "Now that I know he's alive and where he is working and what ops he might be involved in…I can at least keep tabs on him for you."

"That wouldn't put him in any danger?" Caitlin asked worriedly.

"No. In fact, it might be a good thing because if he was to get in a sticky situation I might be able to help get him out of it," Michael explained. "NRO's mandate is monitoring after all and the FIRM would be well within its purview to monitor any transmissions and our mandate is always to seek to protect American assets no matter what agency they are with."

Dom seemed to relax a little and so did String which made Caitlin relax as well.

"What about sending him a coded message, to let him at least know that Caitlin got the package back here? We can do that if we can figure out what his alias is," Marella offered.

"How would we figure it out though?" Caitlin asked curiously.

"Usually when you are under cover that deeply you pick a name that will be really easy for you to remember. A play on your own name or a family name," Hawke said with a shrug.

"I'll see what I can turn up and hide any tracks," Marella promised.

"Thank you, both of you," Hawke said seriously. "Just knowing we can at least watch out for him a little bit is better than nothing at all. And if we could at least tell him, hey we know you are okay that might set his mind at ease too."

"He is doing this nation quite a service, 15 years is a long time to be in theatre and 12 of those in special ops, your brother is a good man, Hawke. I didn't doubt it because he's your brother and all but I do have a new respect for the man I've never had the pleasure of meeting. Hopefully that changes one day soon," Michael said with a smile. "We'll do what we can and I'll let you know."

Michael and Marella left and Caitlin asked if Dom still wanted to open the hanger the rest of the day. He shook his head as he started gathering the letters with his name on them on the desk. "It is Friday and I want to take my letters and go home and read," Dom said as he looked up at the young people he held dear.

"I guess I'll do the same, you want any of the computer files?" Hawke asked as he started to gather up the rest of the letters for himself.

Dom shook his head. "You know I'm not great with those things, I'd probably screw them up."

Hawke looked over at Caitlin as she moved to pick up her flightbag. "Where are you going?"

"Home I guess," Caitlin said with a shrug.

"Would you like to come to the cabin with me?" Hawke asked and she looked at him oddly.

"You have quite a bit of reading to do," she said with a grin.

"I could still use the company, please? I'm not real sure I want to be alone for a change," Hawke said honestly.

Caitlin was surprised by the "please" and Hawke saying he didn't want to be alone for a change. She wasn't sure what to think because it was definitely out of character for him, but she wouldn't pass up the chance to spend time alone with the man she was in love with. "Okay, can I run by my place and pick up some clean clothes? Everything in my flightbag has already seen one rodeo."

Hawke laughed and nodded. "I'll be here waiting for you," he said and took her hand in his giving it a squeeze.

Dom was more than a little pleased to see and hear String asking Cait up to the cabin. It was certainly not what he had imagined. He figured that String would hightail it up to the cabin and lock himself away all weekend, reading and watching the videos and they might not even see him on Monday. Then again, this was good news instead of bad news and looking at the way String was watching Caitlin leave the office he was pretty sure his boy was finally starting to notice what's been under his nose all this time.

He'd wanted the two of them to get together long ago. Maybe now with knowing Sinjin is alive and healthy, doing a job he wants to be doing and had been trying as long as they have to get word to *them* that he was okay…well, maybe now String would start thinking about settling down with Caitlin. Dom always knew she was sweet on him and String he could tell liked her a great deal too he just wouldn't give in to it. Things might be changing now.

Dom finished stacking his letters up and smiled at String. "These are going to keep me busy all weekend," he said happily and Hawke smiled at him.

"I'm looking forward to reading what he said too. I can't explain it, Dom but just knowing he's okay, hearing his voice, knowing Caitlin saw him in the flesh I mean…I feel like the entire weight of the world has been lifted off my shoulders," Hawke said honestly.

"Caitlin certainly brought home quite a gift for us," Dom said with a smile.

"Yeah, she says I don't need to thank her, after all she just got the luck of the draw on the trip to Egypt but she didn't have to convince him it was safe to call. She didn't have to chew his butt about not contacting us either. Cait has proven herself over and over to be not just a friend but family that I just don't know how to thank her," Hawke said looking up from the envelopes he was putting back into the battered box they'd come in.

"She is something else, String. You know she said something to me a few months ago that made me laugh. You know she was a little spitfire even when she was young and complained when she was a teenager that all the other girls got all these dates but she was always just friends with boys her age. She said her dad said, 'because they know you're a good girl, you aren't the girl to just date and have a little fun with' and I have to agree. She's a lot like your mom was, the kind of woman you married, the kind of woman who stands with a man no matter what the cost, not the kind of woman you just had a little fun with," Dom said with a shrug.

The words, "the kind of woman who stands with a man no matter what the cost" got Hawke's attention. He always knew Caitlin was a good woman, he thought of her as a kid at first because she's so youthful but she is so much more than what she appears. Caitlin was loyal, strong and would fight for what she believed in. That he'd always admired about her. She also could take his moodiness and brooding, could always make him smile like no one else and would put him in his place if he pushed her too far. And she had stood with him all this time, always in his corner, always there for him and for Dom.

"Yeah, Dom, she's the marrying kind of woman," Hawke said seriously.

Dom nearly choked on his next breath and looked at the young man he'd raised since he was 10 years old. "I suppose you're right, she definitely is," Dom said after a moment. He patted String on the shoulder and turned to leave. "You do realize if you take the path I think you're considering I'm going to be one very happy man."

"I think I might be too," Hawke answered.

That was all Dom needed to know. He reminded him to make sure to lock everything up and get all the lights before they head to the cabin as he left.


	3. Chapter 3-4

**The Cabin -Chapter 3**

Hawke was still thinking about his and Dom's conversation while waiting on Caitlin to come back. He thought about his true feelings he'd been hiding from and hoped that he got this right. He wanted more than friendship with her, he had for a while but he hadn't felt he could be there for her because of the distraction of his brother being MIA. He didn't want a relationship with her to end like the other women he'd dated. Now, that distraction was gone and he truly felt free as if he could now be the man he wanted to be for Caitlin.

He was just finishing locking up when he heard her car pull up, he smiled when she came into the hanger with her bag. "You all set?" he asked her.

"I think so, you got everything shut down?" she asked.

"Yep," Hawke said as he joined her by the door, he hit the lights as they walked out and finished locking up. He tucked Sinjin's box under his arm and reached over to take her bag to load up in the chopper.

"Such a gentleman," she teased him as he opened her door for her.

"Don't let word get around," he teased in return as he did a quick look around the helicopter and then got in for pre-flight checks.

Caitlin had already started checking gauges for him and had her headset on, relaying their flightplan to the tower. They'd done it a million times in the past but Hawke realized then just how easily they'd fallen into a flow together just shortly after she arrived in California.

Caitlin just 'fit' with him, always had. There were times when the three of them were at the cabin and no words were ever even exchanged for long periods of time. Caitlin just fit with him and Dom, they didn't need words. That isn't to say Caitlin wasn't a talker, she could talk up a storm, especially when nervous but she also knew when he needed quiet. It was like some sort of sense she had about him and she would even get Dom to hush sometimes with just a touch on his arm or knee.

That was why he kept her in the friend zone he supposed, not because he didn't find her attractive but because he found her too attractive, not just physically but on every level and he didn't want to lose that so it was better to have her as a friend and in his life than not at all.

During the flight up to the cabin, Caitlin told him a little more about what happened when she met Sinjin. She explained how she thought she was being followed and what she'd done. He loved that she had been so aware and careful. He laughed when she said that Sinjin had told her "Whoa there, Red. I said I'd explain and I plan to if you'll give me half the chance!" She was blushing when she admitted that she hadn't given him a chance to say anything because she was too busy chewing him out.

"I bet you had your hands on your hips too, didn't you?" Hawke teased and she laughed.

"Yes," she admitted and shoved his arm a little. He just laughed. He could easily picture it, her hands on her hips, feet set apart, eyes flashing fire; he'd seen that look and she was beautiful when she was angry. Like an avenging angel or something equally as beautiful.

When they landed, Hawke went around and opened the door for her and helped Caitlin get out, which he often did but this time his hands seemed to linger at her waist as he helped her onto the dock. There seemed something different in the way he looked at her today, Caitlin thought.

He then got the package from Sinjin and her bag from the back of the helicopter. Hawke took her hand and led her up to the cabin. Scout was sitting on the porch and Caitlin stopped to greet him with a rub and he followed them inside wagging his tail.

Scout didn't take to many of Hawke's visitors, even giving Dom a hard time but Caitlin he seemed to just love. She always talked to him, rubbed him and Hawke thought the dog seemed enamored with the woman when she talked to him. There were times when she'd been at the cabin with him and Dom and Scout would get on the couch and put his head in her lap and look up at her with such a look of adoration in his big brown eyes that Hawke would find himself grinning to himself. Even his dog was in love with her.

Hawke set her bag under the stairs out of the way and dropped the box on his desk in the corner. "You want something to drink?"

"Water would be fine," Cait answered as she hung her jacket and went to join Hawke in the kitchen. It was now after noon.

"You know, I haven't had anything to eat since sometime yesterday. You want me to fix something for lunch?" Caitlin asked.

"I didn't bring you up here to cook for me," Hawke said with a laugh. Though she was an amazing cook and he sure wouldn't mind it.

"I know that, I just meant…you know what I meant!" Caitlin said pursing her lips at him.

"How about we both make a salad together," Hawke offered. "We can figure out something for dinner later."

"Sounds good to me," Caitlin said, drinking some of her water and then heading to the sink to wash her hands. Hawke took his turn at the sink and then started getting things out of the fridge and set to work with Caitlin making a large garden salad for them to share.

He paid attention to how easily they worked together in the kitchen, they'd cooked together a lot over the last year and a half, sometimes Dom and Caitlin would cook, sometimes he and Caitlin and on a few rare but special occasions like birthday's or holidays she'd throw both men out of the kitchen and cook up a storm.

The southern girl would come out at those times and she'd bake and cook and he and Dom would eat so much they could barely walk afterwards. Caitlin was a really, really good cook and she catered to his mostly vegetarian food preferences like it was some sort of personal challenge. She'd make dishes that even Dom couldn't complain about missing the meat in.

Caitlin was getting a few things out of the fridge for the dressing and took note of what items Hawke had in there. "What do you think for dinner?"

"We haven't even finished making lunch yet," Hawke teased as he looked over at her. God, she was pretty, he thought to himself.

"Well, can't hurt to plan. You want to catch some fish or go veggie only?" she asked as she washed the greens for the salad at the sink.

"Do you want to fish with me?" Hawke asked, they'd fished together before. He hadn't done that with many women, friend or someone he was dating because they often were just not into it. Cait had grown up with brothers though and did what they did, so she enjoyed fishing with him.

"Hmm, you know I like to fish too but I saw you have some apples over there, I could whip up something with those for dessert while you catch dinner later," she offered thinking of her Nanna's apple crumble.

"Dom's going to be so sad he missed one of your desserts," Hawke said with a grin.

"I was thinking an apple crumble, would be a perfect dessert to go with pecan crusted trout," she offered as she grated a carrot over the salad.

"I could go for that, when Sinjin does come home one day, now that I really can think about it in such a positive light, I think we should definitely throw him a homecoming dinner. You could do the dessert, Dom could do the pasta and I could take care of the sides. I know he hasn't had a good homecooked meal in years. God, I was there 8 years, Cait. I can't see how he's stood it for so long," Hawke said as he threw a handful of cherry tomatoes into the salad.

"He's determined to follow through on whatever this op is he's working on. He reminds me of you in that sense, or maybe since you are younger you remind me of him," she said with a laugh. "At any rate, you Hawke boys are determined and tenacious, when you set your minds to something you follow through on it."

"I haven't heard that phrase in a long time, 'you Hawke boys', most people are so afraid of mentioning Sinjin around me anymore but now knowing he really is alive and well and, God it just seems so surreal," Hawke admitted with a sigh.

"It's okay to be a little out of sorts about it, ya know? I mean, I've only known about him a year and a half and I'm blown away by it all," Caitlin said reasonably.

She finished up the dressing she'd made and they headed to the table with everything. They settled in and started to eat. Caitlin was starved so she was eating a little fast and had to force herself to slow down.

"Don't mean to be a little piggy over here but I didn't realize I was so hungry," she admitted with a laugh.

"Same here, we've all been so wrapped up in everything today I think we've all lost track of everything else. Thanks for coming up here with me, Cait. It means a lot, I just…usually I need to be alone, you know that, but this time I really need you, Caitlin," Hawke said and reached across the table to take her hand in his. "It is hard for me to admit that I need anyone but I need you. I need your optimism and your smile right now. I know this is all good news but I'm still having a hard time wrapping my mind around it. I feel so many things all at once. Fear for him, fear he'll get hurt, angry that he took this damn op in the first place, sad that I'm not with him, regret that we've lost so much time as a family, guilt that I had to leave him behind and so much happiness that he's okay, that he's *alive* that I'm not sure how I feel from one minute to the next," Hawke explained.

"I would feel the same, String. I'd be so mixed up I wouldn't know what I was feeling either. But I'm glad that you asked me to come. I'm glad I can be here as your friend through all this," Caitlin said reassuringly. "I'll always be here for you and you know I'd do anything for you."

"I'd do anything for you too, Cait," Hawke answered honestly. "I honestly would do absolutely anything, go anywhere for you."

Caitlin swallowed hard at his pronouncement and wondered just what she could see shining in his beautiful baby blue eyes. She knew what she wanted to see there but couldn't trust herself not to think it was just wishful thinking. 'He means it as a friend, not anything more.'

"The feeling is mutual," Caitlin said after a moment. His hand left hers then and she took a drink of water to try to gain her equilibrium back. When he said or did things like that it made her love him even more.

They didn't speak any more about Sinjin but Hawke did ask her about the trip to Egypt. She told him about the museum she dragged poor Kevin to and how bored the younger pilot had been. Hawke laughed and she told him that more than once she wished he'd been there to enjoy the sights with her instead. Caitlin told him that she was certain he would have had more appreciation for it and he assured her that he would have loved it.

 **Learning More – Chapter 4**

After Hawke and Caitlin finished their lunch, they straightened up and washed the dishes together then Hawke walked over to his desk. Caitlin slid her hands into the pockets of her jeans and watched as he picked through some of the things.

"This one is dated the earliest, do you want to watch it with me?" Hawke asked holding up the silver disc.

"Sure," Caitlin answered.

Hawke gathered up everything and the laptop, carrying it to the couch. Caitlin sat down beside him and he popped in the disc and then settled the laptop on one of his legs and one of hers.

The video started up and Sinjin looked younger and much thinner, when Caitlin saw him he was a much more muscular fellow. "Hey, guys. Today is April 12, 2005. I am at a secret military facility undergoing some training for my new gig. I'm not supposed to be recording this but hey, what they don't know don't hurt 'em, right? I just wanted you to know I'm alive and I took a job with a special ops team. I saw too much shit go down when I was captured that I just have to do this. I'd love to be home, man, I miss you guys and miss home but I gotta do this. This is more than just wanting to get revenge for 9/11, ya know? It's much more than that now. I just want you to know that I'm looking forward to seeing you. Hopefully this will all be over soon and I'll be back at the hanger with you guys. In the meantime, drink a cold one for me!"

Hawke paused the disc and Caitlin looked at him for a moment. "That was 2005…he's been hoping to come home since then. That is just…God that's awful," Caitlin said sadly.

Hawke nodded and took her hand in his. He held it tight and shook his head. "He was over 10 years younger than I am now in that video."

Hawke started the next video and this one seemed to have been made in a tent somewhere. You could hear light arms fire in the background and Sinjin was covered in dust, he had the beginnings of a scraggly beard, was wearing fatigues and a flak jacket along with having his helmet on. "Hell of a time to shoot a video huh?" Sinjin chuckled and shook his head. "None of our guys are involved, we are just biding our time. Its two warlords having it out, we are just waiting and keeping out of it for now. We don't really give a damn which one of them wins they are both nasty bastards, just saves us having to take out both of them if one takes out the other first. Such a great place to be, ain't it little brother? My CO said you reupped, you crazy little bastard, why'd you go and do that? I hope you don't do it again. I'd like to know you get out of here in one piece unlike so many of our friends. At least one of us needs to go home and carry on the family name, get married and have some fat babies for old Dom to dote on. You know he'd spoil 'em rotten right? I signed on until the job is done with this crew but I hope you get to go home soon. You keep the bogeys off your ass, kid. I'm prayin' for you."

The video ended and Caitlin squeezed Hawke's hand. "You didn't leave the military for another three years, right?"

"Yeah, only left then because I was shot and by the time I was discharged they were focused so much on Iraq that if I had reupped again I'd have been sent there. If I'd gone back in I wanted to go back to Afghanistan where Sinjin was or at least I thought he was," Hawke admitted. "So, I got an offer from Michael which included him trying to find Sinjin and I came home instead."

"He was still keeping tabs on me even though I had no idea where he was or what he was doing, he was still trying to watch out for his kid brother, huh?"

"Sounds like it. He was right though, Dom will so spoil any kids you or he ever have," Caitlin said laughing.

"God, yeah he will," Hawke said with a chuckle. A part of him wondered what it would be like to have those kids with Caitlin. He realized he was getting ahead of himself but now knowing Sinjin was alive and well…maybe not safe but well, made it easier for him to think of doing more with his own life. He wanted Caitlin to be a part of that life as more than just his friend.

He glanced at his watch and decided to play one more video before he went to fish for dinner. He took a deep breath and loaded the next video.

It looked like he was in a tent again. "Today is March 8, 2006. We have been in the mountains searching for you know who. I'm in Helmand province right now, we are working with a NATO group. We've been busy the last few days running interference between our guys, NATO the UN and Red Cross trying to get aid to the civvies because some of them have intel we can use. I'm caring less about the intel than I am about the kids stuck in the middle of all this. One of the Red Cross nuns has me running errands like a choir boy and I really don't hate it to be honest. Too bad she's a nun, she's a pretty lady, Dom you're probably saying that I'm going to go to hell for that but hey…I'm human. She keeps asking favors and damned if I can't tell the woman no. Not sure if it's because she's pretty or because she's a freaking nun and I could use all the extra prayers she can say for me. Anyway, the last errand I ran for her nearly got my tail shot off but we managed to get food to some kids holed up in an orphanage up in the mountains so I guess it was worth it. So, I'm still here, no new holes in me and Sister Helena is keeping me in her prayers. Love you guys."

Hawke was actually grinning after that video had finished. He shook his head as he looked at Caitlin who was laughing.

"He has a great sense of humor," Caitlin said and Hawke laughed.

"Yeah. Crazy idiot," Hawke set the laptop on the coffee table and sighed. "Let's stop there for now and I'll head out to the lake to go get dinner."

"Sure thing. I'll get started on those apples," Caitlin said as he helped her up and they parted ways. Him to get his pole and tackle box and her to start washing and peeling apples.

Hawke spent the time fishing thinking about his brother and what he was doing. Caitlin was right, the apples did fall close together. They both did things that were dangerous to help others in their own way. They were both loyal to their country and to the causes they were working for. Seeing and hearing his brother again after all this time was cathartic.

He also spent time thinking about the pretty redhead in his kitchen. He didn't know exactly how he would let her know how he felt but soon he had to. Hawke was not inexperienced with women to say the least but Caitlin was too important to him to screw it up either. Should he go slow? Ask her out on a real date or just, kiss her and tell her how he feels? Or at the least show her since words weren't always his strong suit?

He was distracted from his thoughts when he felt a strike on his lure and set his mind back to fishing.

Caitlin was in the kitchen and she was also doing some thinking. It made her feel special that Hawke had wanted her to be here with him this weekend. The fact that he was sharing these videos of his brother with her was just more than she ever expected. He'd always been such a private man, sometimes very hard to read and sometimes very hard to be a friend with. Hawke could be difficult sometimes but she felt he was worth it. It wasn't just because she was attracted to him and had strong feelings for him, he really was a good man. Dom had raised some really great boys to be incredible men. There were moments, especially lately that she felt as if her connection with Hawke was stronger than ever. He had always been a bit tactile with her, touching her, putting his arm around her, holding her hand or even a little kiss on the cheek or forehead. The only kisses on the lips they'd shared had been for a stunt, her first stunt at that and the other had been a heat of the moment thank God, I'm still alive type of kiss she gave him after she'd been kidnapped and nearly blown up.

Caitlin melted butter in the cast iron skillet she was using and added cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt, vanilla and brown sugar making a thick, fragrant sauce that she added the apples to. She let them cook and bubble together while she cut together butter, sugar, oatmeal and flour with chopped pecans to make the topping. Once she had it in the oven the cabin already smelled divine. She cleaned up the kitchen as she thought about Hawke's sweet smile. There was one smile in particular that he only ever seemed to bestow upon her, it was the same smile he gave her when she first found him in California. His baby blue eyes had sparkled as he smiled at her that day and her stomach had done flip flops every time he smiled like that again ever since.

She sighed as she finished wiping off the counter and then set to work washing and drying some green beans he had picked up at the farmers market that she liked to shop at too. Caitlin looked up when she heard the door open and Scout and Hawke came strolling in with a few fish.

"Looks like we'll be having that trout then," she grinned at him.

"Yep, you have it smelling like Christmas in here," Hawke said with a grin of his own.

"Mmm, yeah I love this recipe from Nanna. She used to make it every Thanksgiving and every Christmas," Caitlin said with a smile.

Hawke went out to the little back porch where he had an area set up specifically for cleaning fish and set to work filleting the trout for Caitlin to work her magic on. He wasn't a bad cook but he didn't put the same, he supposed the only word was love, that Cait put into it.

She didn't really cook by a recipe either, he would watch her when she'd cooked with him before. She isn't like other women he'd cooked with, she doesn't measure and weigh or anything, she just had a natural affinity for it. She said it was the way her Nanna had taught her to cook.

Dom had said it was common in his family too not to measure things. It was all by smell and taste and feel. If Hawke cooked that way, it was sometimes hit or miss that was why he kept to simpler fare.

Caitlin came out shortly after he had the first fish ready to put on a plate and she held it out to him, timing his work almost perfectly. They chatted a bit about some of the work they had to do the next week at the hanger and when he placed the last fillet on the plate she headed back into the kitchen to season the fish.

He cleaned up everything and then went to wash up. When he dried his hands, he turned to find Caitlin on her tip toes trying to reach a bowl on the top shelf in the upper cabinets.

Hawke moved behind her and put his hand on her hip as he leaned up and snagged the bowl for her. He wasn't that much taller than Caitlin, only a couple inches taller but his arms and fingers were longer. He could stand flat footed and reach everything on the top shelf while she had to tiptoe and struggle to reach.

She looked over her shoulder at him, his front against her back which felt so damn good she didn't really want to move. She smiled as she took the offered bowl.

"Thank you," she said fighting a blush from how heated her body had become from his nearness.

He just smiled in return and stepped away from her to get out of the way. Hawke could tell she had things under control in the kitchen but he didn't want to be away from her. He enjoyed the feel of her body against his way too much he realized but what the hell, he was just going to stop fighting how he felt.

"Anything I can help with?"

"Hmm, oh, could you slice some of these tomatoes in half? I'm going to toss them with the green beans," she said and he nodded taking a place at the counter to get to work.

When she opened the oven, he couldn't help watching her those jeans fit her body like a glove and he felt his own heart rate pick up a bit. He looked away but had to say something about the smell of that dessert she was placing on the counter. "God that smells amazing," Hawke admitted and she laughed.

"Almost makes you want to start with dessert, doesn't it?" Caitlin said with a smile.

When he looked at her cherry red lips, his thoughts were definitely on a different type of "dessert" that was for sure. He cleared his throat as if that might somehow clear the inappropriate thoughts out of his mind.

When dinner was about ready, Hawke set the table and chose a nice bottle of white wine to go with the meal.

Caitlin as usual had done a wonderful job with the food and Hawke thought that Dom would be sad that he missed out on this. Caitlin wasn't the girly girl type, not a lot of fussy clothes or makeup but when it came to cooking, she was the type of woman who took great pride in it and Dom and he were always appreciative. There was just something about the way a woman cooked for a man, when she really cared about the men she cooked for. It was sort of how they both knew she cared because of the way she tried to take care of them both with other things but also her cooking.

Once, when Dom had the flu, she brought him homemade chicken noodle soup and homemade bread and the last time he'd been hurt on a mission she'd come up to the cabin and took care of him. Cooking, helping with Scout and making sure he didn't aggravate his injury too much. He fussed at her about being a grown man who didn't need to be mothered but deep down it had made him feel far better than the pain pills to have Caitlin there with him.

"Mmm, Cait, it always amazes me what a great cook you are," he complimented her as he finished tasting the trout and some of the vegetables.

"Why thank you, I love cooking up here, that old stove of yours reminds me of Nanna's and that is where I learned to cook. I used to love spending my summers with her and cookin' with her. She was of the generation of women that pretty much all they did all day long was cook!" Caitlin laughed. "She'd get up before the sun and make a huge breakfast that fed not only the family but the ranch hands too. She'd have platters of biscuits, pancakes, ham and bacon and sometimes sausages along with a huge tray of fresh eggs we had collected the evening before. Once they ate all that and headed out to work, she'd clean up the kitchen and start all over again on lunch, then after lunch she'd do the same for dinner. She'd do other chores in between, washing clothes and all those things too and taking care of feeding the chickens and her garden and stuff. It was exhausting but she did it every single day. I learned a lot helping in her kitchen every summer."

"I'll say, your biscuits are the best I've ever had in my life. Dom thinks so too," Hawke said remembering how both of them stuffed themselves the first time she brought homemade biscuits to the hanger for breakfast once. She'd made homemade jam to go with them which had floored them both. Women these days didn't really make things like homemade jam much anymore.

They say that the way to a man's heart is his stomach, though that wasn't true for Hawke he did appreciate her talent and he could tell that it pleased her when he acknowledged how good of a cook she was. Plus, it felt like home, his mother was a great cook too and he still even after all these years missed her. Caitlin had brought just a bit of that feeling of home and family back to him.

"Oh, I got the message when you both nearly ate the whole basket I brought in that mornin'. I thought you two had never had a proper southern biscuit before," Cait laughed.

"We hadn't!" Hawke said with a grin. "If you were a few decades older I think Dom might have asked you to marry him."

Caitlin almost choked on her wine as she started to laugh. "Oh, my. I think of him like a father that's just too weird to even consider!"

Hawke laughed right along with her and looked back at her seriously. "Thank you for this, for everything. When you came back into my life I was happy to see you but I never realized just how important you would become to me, Cait. Your laughter, your optimism, your friendship and your loyalty have all been more than I could have ever hoped for."

Caitlin blushed red and he smiled at her. "I've made you blush," he teased. He did often try to make her blush sometimes because he found it cute.

"Yes, you have, Stringfellow Hawke. I didn't know what I expected when I came here but I knew I wanted to see you again. I wanted to bring you news of your friend but I also wanted to see you one more time. I never really expected to be welcome to stay," Caitlin admitted.

"Best thing I ever talked Dom into," Hawke said toasting her with his wine and loving the way her blue-green eyes sparkled at him.

"I'm sure glad you did," Caitlin said taking a drink of her wine as well.

"Cait, have you ever wanted more?" Hawke asked curiously. Not entirely sure where he wanted to take this conversation but he desperately wanted to know.

"More? In what way?"

"I dunno, a husband, a family like what your mom is always pestering you about," Hawke asked.

"Of course, I want those things but it will come in time I guess."

"I know when Dom suggested it that time that you said no but…would you, have you ever thought about that life, a husband and family, ya know…with me?" Hawke asked, his heart in his throat.

Caitlin was stunned. That was the last question she ever thought he would ask her. How the hell was she supposed to answer that?

"Way to put a gal on the spot," she said laughing a little trying to diffuse the situation and give him a way out if he wanted to take it.

"I'm serious, Caitlin," Hawke said then, reaching across the table to take her hand in his. "I know I've thought about it. I've thought about how you make me happy, how I can't think of a future, a wife and children without picturing you. It, this feeling, has been growing in me over the last year and now with so many questions answered about Sinjin, I feel like I can be that man that you deserve, the man who can freely love you without chasing ghosts anymore," Hawke said seriously.

Caitlin's eyes flew up to meet his and she gasped softly. "Freely love?"

"I love you, Caitlin. I have since the moment I met you I think, I was just too afraid to admit it, too wrapped up in my search for my brother," Hawke whispered. "I'm sorry it has taken me so long to tell you."

"Oh, String," she whispered and turned her hand to thread her fingers between his, her skin pale against his tanned digits. "I love you too, I've loved you ever since you said, 'I know' back when you were in that jail cell."

The smile that blazed across Hawke's face was that same smile he gave her that day he was working on the Steerman when she found him again. Hawke stood from his chair and moved in front of Caitlin.

"I'd like the chance to show you how much I love you, to give to you what I've held back for so long because I was too focused on finding Sinjin and ignoring everything else in my life. You've stood by me, supported me and reminded me that I can still love," Hawke said softly, reaching out to brush away the tears that slipped down Caitlin's pretty face.

"Oh, you. I love you, so very much," Caitlin said softly, covering his hand with one of her own as it rested against her cheek.

When Caitlin said she loved him in return, Hawke felt his heart leap in his chest and he leaned in to kiss her softly on the lips. One kiss though wasn't nearly enough and he'd pulled her closer, kissing her deeper and pouring every ounce of love he felt for her into the kiss. It felt so good to feel her body pressed close, her hands on his shoulders and then sliding up into his hair. If it weren't for the need to breathe, Hawke thought he might never stop kissing Caitlin.

The position they were in was a bit awkward and when Hawke drew back, he took Caitlin's hand. She stood and he took her face in his hands to guide her lips to his once again. They kissed until they were both breathless and needy but he didn't want to push too far, too fast.

Hawke placed his forehead against Caitlin's and just held her close for a few moments, relishing the feel of her smaller frame against his own. He had kissed plenty of women in his life, held them against his body like this but he couldn't recall it ever feeling this right.

Caitlin was still reeling from everything that had just happened. Hawke loved her! He was holding her; his kisses had been a revelation to her. She had never felt this way from just kisses. Her body ached for more, her heart was beating heavily in her chest and her stomach was tight with anticipation. She knew though that whatever Hawke wanted she would give him, it frightened her a little how much she would give of herself to this man.

Caitlin could easily lose herself to Stringfellow Hawke, she could so easily let herself just be consumed by him. She would do and give absolutely anything to make him happy. The scariest part was that she wasn't the least bit afraid of losing herself to him because she knew that he would be the one man who would never try to change her. He would never ask her to stop flying, he would never tell her that her place was on the ground like others had. He would never make her feel like she was any less capable just because she was a woman. That was what had caught her heart in the first place, his belief in her. The scary part was if this man did ask her to change, she'd do it in a heartbeat.

They stood just holding one another and when he drew back from her and Caitlin's eyes fluttered open she was surprised by the emotion dancing in his eyes. She knew in that moment that each of them could shatter the other or lend strength with a single emotion; love. It was there, more than the words he'd spoken it was right there in his eyes for her to see.

Her hands traveled from where she'd tangled them in his chestnut hair down to his neck and across his strong shoulders that had carried the weight of his parents and brother's loss for so long. The silence was comfortable as they stared into each other's eyes, each other's souls. This was home for both pilots.

The moment was broken with the sound of silverware clattering off the table. They both jumped and started to laugh, Scout had jumped into Hawke's chair and was finishing off his trout for him.

"Scout!" Caitlin said reprimanding the dog even as she laughed and pushed him down. Hawke was fighting a laugh too and scolded the dog as he picked up the silverware from the floor.

"Your timing sucks, Scout," Hawke grunted at the dog and gave him the order to go lay in front of the hearth in the living room. The dog was well trained but he was still a dog and the humans weren't eating the food. He slunk over in front of the hearth still licking his chops.

When Hawke turned back to Caitlin she was already cleaning up the table from their meal.

"Well I guess I'm not saving the rest of this for later," Hawke laughed as he took his plate to dump.

Caitlin laughed as she joined him in the kitchen. "He's just a dog after all, I'm sure that he thought oh I guess they are done I'll just clean-up for them," Caitlin teased.

In truth, she was a little thankful to Scout for his timing. If she let her heart rule her head as it was they would have possibly made a mistake tonight. She hadn't exactly been prepared for the feelings she had coursing through her. She thought she would have been because she's been certain of her love for Hawke for a long time but so much had happened in the last two days. She wanted to be sure that they really were ready for this next step in their relationship because there was no going back.

Caitlin busied herself putting the food away, while Hawke took care of clearing up the scraps from the meal. Living up here in the mountains he had to be careful of attracting wildlife too close to the cabin.

With those chores all done, Caitlin had started on the dishes and he supposed that the mood had been broken and a part of him regretted it while another part thought that maybe Scout's interruption was a good thing. Were they ready to jump into a physical relationship? He knew a part of him was excited and more than happy at the prospect but his head told him to slow down just a little bit. The leap from close and dear friends straight into a physical relationship could do more harm than good, so he was willing to slow down…but not for too long. He needed and wanted Caitlin more than he'd ever wanted or needed a woman before.

He helped Cait dry the dishes, they tried to chat a little, it was a bit awkward for a few minutes but soon they were back on an even keel.

"Do you want to watch more of the videos from Sinjin?" Cait asked as she drained the sink.

"Yeah. Let's pick up where we left off. It is like a time capsule you know? Seeing him so young and so like the last time I saw him in person just brings so much back. What I was doing at the time too," Hawke answered as he put the last of the dishes away.

"What were you doing in March of 2007?" Caitlin asked curiously.

"Flying an Apache at the time but by the summer of that year I was flying some reconnaissance too, I think that is where the NRO and the FIRM got me on their radar," Hawke explained.

"Kiowa?"

"Yeah and sometimes I flew an Arapaho and on several missions that year I was flying medi-vac support, myself and Tommy Jenson worked together urban scouting missions and emergency transport support to Rocket City," Hawke explained.

"Rocket City was Salerno right?" Caitlin asked remembering reading an article about the base.

"Yeah, we had quite a mix of all branches there plus 10th Mountain and 82nd Airborne worked out of the base at that time, it was quite the set up with a hospital, clinic for the locals, hell they even built a school," Hawke said with a shrug. "But it got its nickname for a reason, it was almost constantly under fire of some kind."

Caitlin could tell from his tone that it had been a difficult stint, at the time he hadn't known where his brother was, if he was even still alive and he had a more than stressful job to do.

She settled on the couch next to him and tangled her fingers with Hawke's. Her touch brought him back from some bad memories and he reached out to pick up the laptop.

"So, let's see what Sinjin was up to then," he said as he settled back and started up the video again.

This time Sinjin was in another tent but he wasn't in full gear. In fact, he was sitting with his shirt open, his dog tags were catching the light in the tent. He was drinking a cup of coffee as he sat on a bucket.

"Been a few months since the last update, today is your birthday little brother! Hope you had a good one. I miss you and Dom like crazy, especially on a day like this. I hope to make up for the missed birthday's and holidays and stuff when I come home. We got some real bad dudes taken care of last week though. I've been attached to a group from the CIA now. Not too thrilled about it but orders are orders. Would have rather stayed up in the mountains with the Red Cross folks. The guys I'm with now are working on finding info on you know who and we might be heading to the border of Pakistan. Not sure what the mission is yet, these CIA guys play it real close to the vest but I'll find out soon exactly what is going on. At least I get back up in the air again. I don't like this ground grunt work nearly as much. I guess I don't have to tell you but it's hotter than Hades here right now and I'm lookin' forward to that air conditioning again. CO says you are operating out of Rocket City, you keep your head down, brother. I gotta get some shut eye," Sinjin lifted the coffee mug up, "and this is just plain old Army rotten coffee but, here's to you, kiddo. I love ya!"

"Air-conditioned cockpit. He was most likely flying an Apache then," Hawke said with a slight smile.

Caitlin smiled a little. "And he remembered your birthday even in a place like that."

"I remember that day, it was not a great day but we all came home in one piece at least," Hawke said with a shrug. "Tommy and I were flying support for DUSTOFF crews. We got everyone back to the field hospital though. Everyone had a pulse when we landed at least, not sure after that. It was up to the docs then."

They watched the rest of the videos on the disc there were only two more and both were about Sinjin's working with the CIA group. Hawke figured that was why Sinjin was still over there, still working to undermine and stop insurgents before they could rise to a lead role like Bin Laden had. It really was a worthwhile task, he knew that, it didn't mean that he didn't miss and worry about his brother.

When the last file ended, Hawke shut down the laptop and took it back to his desk. He looked at some of the letters but thought he'd wait to read those.

"How about some of that dessert?" Hawke asked and Caitlin got up and started getting everything ready.

He put on some coffee to have with the sweet apple dish and caught himself watching Cait as she moved around his kitchen as if it were her own. He liked the idea of the cabin being her home too, probably a lot more than he should at this juncture of their relationship. He didn't want to scare her off, she may love him in return but he sure didn't want to move so fast everything blew up in their faces either.


	4. Chapter 5

Falling Deeper – Chapter 5

When Hawke and Caitlin settled on the couch to eat dessert, the sound that came from Hawke as he tasted his made Caitlin's eyebrows raise and she thought it would be fun to elicit that sound from something other than food.

"That good?" Caitlin grinned at him and Hawke smiled at her after he had swallowed the sweet treat.

"Damn good," he said in return. "You are going to have to make this next time Dom comes up with us. He loves apple pie, this will knock his socks off."

Caitlin giggled and ate some of her own dessert and thought it was probably the best she'd made in a while too. Apparently, she'd been inspired today.

Once they were finished, she put the dishes to soak and followed Hawke back to the couch with her cup of coffee. "I love spending time with you up here, ya know?" Caitlin said as Hawke pulled her close and wrapped his arm over her shoulder.

"I love having you here," he admitted. "When you're here the cabin feels even more like home."

She looked up at him then and words caught in her throat from the way Hawke was looking at her with those beautiful eyes of his.

Without speaking, Hawke put his hand up to her face, brushed her cheek and then ran his hands through her strawberry blonde hair. It had grown quite a bit since he first met her, no longer a boyish cut to fit in as a police officer. Grasping the back of her head, he pulled her towards him and kissed her passionately, holding her close. Caitlin wasn't passive herself, her hands moved over his shoulders and as Hawke turned his body more toward hers on the couch, she moved and straddled his lap. He gasped against her lips and looked up into her sparkling eyes. "Cait, are…are you sure? This isn't too fast?"

"Not fast enough, String. I love you, I've loved you for so long and I want this, want you. This isn't just a spur of the moment thing, I know you. Here," she said placing her hand over his heart. "You are the best man I know and I love you more than I ever thought could be possible to love anyone. If you love me as much as you say then this isn't too soon. And if you're worried about scaring me moving too fast, don't," she said softly.

Her jean clad thighs felt so good against his own and he could see the honesty in her eyes. The time for denying themselves more was done, he wanted her, he loved her and he would make her his in every possible way.

He kissed her again taking his time to map the contours of her lips, enjoying the jolt of lust that ran through his body. Their lips moved slowly, a languid dance as his hands traveled across her shoulder, his fingertips brushing her neck. Her lips moved with his as she reveled in the overwhelming sensations her body had to his touch and taste. Hawke's tongue eagerly slid along hers, the kiss igniting their passion higher. Their tongues moved together, swirling and probing, as he pulled her closer and they explored each other's mouths.

Caitlin's hands ran down his chest, massaging his muscles and she shifted her hips, causing them both to gasp and moan breaking the kiss. She let her head fall back as her warm core shifted against his increasingly hard shaft trapped between them.

"Oh, God," Hawke gasped as his mouth traced over the smooth pale column of her neck. "I love you, Caitlin," he whispered as his lips and tongue tasted her skin.

When her hips moved again, his eyes shuttered closed and he rocked up to meet her, both of them rubbing against each other like a pair of horny teenagers. He wrapped his arms around her and slid to the edge of the couch then stood up, supporting her weight with his hands curled around where her bottom met her thighs.

"Bed," he whispered against her lips and she smiled.

"Yes," she whispered in return.

Mature Excerpt – See Chapter 5 Mature Excerpt for Luck of the draw

Back to chapter

"You want the shower first?" Hawke asked as Caitlin rolled onto her back to look up at him. Her eyes were still heavy and she nodded.

"Sure, I can start breakfast when I get out if you'll get the coffee going," she said, hiding a yawn behind her hand.

He smiled at her and nodded. "Sounds like a plan," he answered. He tugged his jeans back on and padded downstairs bare chested and barefoot. She enjoyed watching the play of his muscles as he disappeared down the stairs.

She looked up at the ceiling and smiled happily. This was turning out to be the best weekend of her life and it was only Saturday morning.


	5. Chapter 6

The Perfect Weekend - Chapter 6

While Caitlin was showering, Hawke let Scout out and brought in some firewood and got the downstairs fire burning to take some of the night's chill off the cabin and then started the coffee going. He went back to check on Scout, who was laying on the porch waiting on him and fed the dog before he went back inside. He picked up a couple of Sinjin's letters and read through them while he waited for his turn in the shower. Like the videos the letters had been short and not a lot of specific detail but enough for him to know his brother was doing what he felt was the right thing. He did talk about his time as a POW in one of the letters, letting him know that he never once blamed String for leaving him. He also talked about some of the other men, about some of their injuries. Sinjin had spent part of the time he was held acting as a pseudo field medic for them. He just knew what dad and Dom had taught them as kids camping and stuff and some minor things they taught in the military but it was enough to at least give the guys a fighting chance. It made String feel proud of his brother though, knowing that he was still the same guy deep down that he'd always been proud to call his big brother.

When Caitlin came downstairs, she had her hair up in a ponytail, she didn't wear it up very often but she looked cute. He set the letters aside and headed toward the loft to take his turn at the shower.

"Veggie omelet sound good?" she called after him.

"Sounds great!" he called as he jogged up the stairs.

Caitlin smiled as she started getting everything together to start breakfast. She loved her life right now, she was loved in return by the man she's been in love with for so long and had spent the night in his arms. They'd made love twice and she was now making him breakfast. It felt so right that a part of her hoped one day this would be common place. Maybe even a child or two in the mix as well. She figured she was getting ahead of herself but a girl could dream. It wasn't like her dreams were farfetched, at least not on a personal level, they were pretty basic after all. Marry the man of her dreams, love him, care for him and give him children. Her dreams in her career were pretty much already met. She loved her job and now her personal life seemed to be getting on track too. It was still early yet but she hoped this with Hawke would last and then she'd certainly feel she was one of those women who had it all.

Her mother would never understand it and some of her girlfriends wouldn't either but Caitlin at this moment in her life was exactly where she wanted to be. One thing she knew, that man with the gorgeous baby blue eyes had ruined her for any other man. She'd never felt so loved or so fulfilled by another in her life, not that she'd had many lovers but even so, Stringfellow Hawke was her forever. She knew it the moment he kissed her last night. This was it for her.

Caitlin was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't hear Hawke come back downstairs. The man could be stealthy and she jumped just a bit when his arms wrapped around her midsection and she smiled.

"Breakfast is almost ready," she said and then couldn't help but giggle when he kissed her neck.

"Ticklish?"

"Hmm, a little bit," she said as she carefully turned the omelet in the pan.

"You make that look easy," Hawke groused a little. His omelets always ended up scrambled eggs with vegetables mixed in. He wasn't a bad cook but he'd never quite been able to master making omelets or actual round pancakes. They tasted fine but they didn't look like they should.

"Just takes a little patience is all," Caitlin said as she turned off the flame and divided the food between too waiting plates on the counter.

That he knew she had in abundance, she'd been patient with him for a year and a half. She had put up with a lot from him, especially him dating other women right in front of her. They never meant anything, the few women he had dated had just been for a good time and he never intended them to have any future. He wished he hadn't been so damn single minded or maybe he and Caitlin could have been together a while ago. But they were together now and that was what counted.

He released her and grabbed the plate of toast and his plate to carry to the table. Caitlin had her plate and both cups of coffee by the handles in one hand.

"This looks and smells great," Hawke commented as they sat down.

Caitlin smiled at him as she took a sip of her coffee. "Thank you, ya know…I really enjoy cooking for you," she said with a grin. "You're always so appreciative of it, some guys just take it for granted that their girl will cook for them."

"My girl?" Hawke grinned at her. "I think I like the sound of that. You know how it always is up here though, we usually just take turns cooking but I have to admit it is always much better when you do it."

"Hawke, it's always better when someone else makes the food, 'cause you didn't have to," she teased. "Well, unless it's Kevin because that boy could burn water."

Hawke laughed at that and thought she wasn't really far off the mark. "Always figured that was why the kid was so skinny."

Once their breakfast was finished, Hawke told her since she cooked he'd do the dishes. He told her to just relax, so she was on the couch with her sock feet propped on the coffee table reading one of his books. She was chewing on her thumbnail as she read, obviously completely wrapped up in the story by the time he had finished up and he was leaning against the bar watching her.

She had no idea how truly beautiful she was. Caitlin wasn't the glamourous type, she was more the sweet, pretty, girl next door type. The type he'd never actually thought he would want until he met her. She was so much more than that though and she was his. It sounded so sexist in his head but she was 'his girl' as she'd said earlier. He loved the liberal sprinkling of freckles on her peaches and cream skin and he loved her cute little nose that she would wrinkle up when annoyed and the way her eyes sparkled when she was happy. She had a million-dollar smile that also made him fight to keep a matching smile from his own face most of the time.

Caitlin was all softness and femininity but with a toughness and fire that was in direct opposition from her looks. Her temper, even when it was directed at him he respected and was a force to be reckoned with and her sassiness was another thing he loved about her. And then there were those sweet lips that he found that he really, really loved to kiss and those long legs and soft skin made him just want to lose himself in her.

Hawke felt his stomach tighten with desire and decided to stop ogling the woman before he ended up dragging her back upstairs. Not that she probably would have minded after her reactions last night and this morning but he didn't want her to think that was all he wanted with her. He decided to grab a stack of Sinjin's letters instead. He settled down on the couch next to Caitlin and patted her knee before he settled in to read.

A few hours later, Caitlin put her bookmark in the book and set it aside. "Anything interesting?" she asked looking at the letters he'd set beside him that Hawke had already read.

"A few things, he doesn't give a lot of detail, a lot like the videos. If he were to get caught trying to get word to us at least they couldn't accuse him of giving away any secrets," Hawke said with a shrug. "Not that I want to know them anyway, it's just good to know he was thinking of us and okay. Some little funny, silly things that he heard or saw. Some letters talk about some sad things too, things he wished he could change. I had similar feelings in my time there. The people, the civilians caught in the middle. That was the hard part to deal with. I guess it is in any war. He talks a bit more about Sister Helena in a few of them. She really made an impression on him. Leave it to Sinjin to fall for the completely unattainable woman."

Caitlin laughed. "It is kinda sweet though, not many men would even look at a nun and see a woman they could even think was attractive. Most seem to look at a nun as some sort of weird anomaly or something. I think it says a lot about you and him both, about the way you were raised to respect people, respect women. I can see Dom's influence there, I didn't know your dad of course but if he was Dom's best friend then I know he must have been the same way," Caitlin said reasonably.

"Yeah, he was. We were taught to never under any circumstances hit a woman and to try to be respectful and never treat a woman any less than we would another man. I remember dad told me that women are just as strong as men, just in a different way. I didn't understand it when I was a kid but I do now," Hawke said with a smile. Caitlin remained silent, feeling that Hawke wanted to say more. He was never that talkative but this weekend had proven differently.

"Plus, there were a few female medics during the war that I think were emotionally if not physically stronger than the men were. They had to always work harder and be the best because they were always considered at a disadvantage. Kinda like how you still sometimes have to tell people at the hanger that you're a pilot not a secretary. I knew one lady that was a medic, she was married with kids but she was tough as nails. She saved a lot of soldiers' lives and she didn't have the luxury of weapons to protect herself. We were their only protection, the DUSTOFF helo's had no weapons on them. She was out there on that thin line, hanging in the air, lowering into all these situations that would scare the hell out of anyone and she did it over and over again. We flew as support one night, she was hanging out there, in the dark, spinning down into all these trees on a mountain side. The helicopter caught a patch of thin air and jerked and she just held on, slammed right into a tree trunk, pushed herself off and continued down. She was spinning like a top, it would have made anyone sick. She hit the ground, laid flat of her back for a few seconds to get her bearings before she got up and ran to get her patient. She had actually been hurt pretty badly but she ignored it, treated her patient and just cleaned herself up and wrapped her leg where the tree had taken a chunk out of her. Then she just moved on to the next patient. We acted as cover for them again when she hauled another guy up, he was in bad shape and when we got back to base I saw her again. She was sitting in a corner drinking some water. Her fatigues were stained purple from all the dried blood, then she took a deep breath, looked up at me, smiled and gave a thumb up. I watched in awe as she limped back to her chopper crew and they were off again. Our shift of support was over yet her team was still working. I'll never forget watching her limp to that chopper that morning. No one can ever tell me that a woman isn't just as good as a man at anything."

Hawke was opening up to her in ways that was surprising. In all the time she knew him, he'd never said a lot about the war but now he was sharing so much with her.

Caitlin found herself smiling and she leaned over and kissed Hawke on the cheek. "And that is one of the many reasons why I fell in love with you too. You never made me feel like I was worth less just because I was a woman," she whispered.

Hawke smiled at her and returned the kiss on her soft lips. "And I never will, worry about you, want you safe, yes, I'll admit to that but not think you can handle something? No, I know you can. You've proven yourself to me dozens of times, Cait."

She leaned her head on his shoulder as he read more of his letters and then giggled when her stomach rumbled. "I guess it must be about lunch time. How about something simple, grilled cheese okay?"

"Sounds good to me," Hawke answered and got up. "But let me do it this time. Like I said I didn't bring you up here to cook for me all weekend."

"How about we do it together?"

The raised eyebrow look he gave her made her blush and she slapped him on the arm. "I meant cook."

"I didn't say anything!"

"You really didn't have to," she said laughing and following him into the kitchen.

"I can't help it you have a dirty mind," Hawke teased and cracked up laughing at the look she gave him.

"Really?" she said pursing her lips and then unable to hold it she started laughing.

The weekend passed with more memories, stories and love making. It would be a weekend that the couple would never, ever forget.

Note: The medic story told here was a paraphrasing/fictionalizing of a story of an actual female medic who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for her role in saving the lives of 14 men even while injured.


	6. Chapter 7

Monday Mornings - Chapter 7

Hawke and Caitlin were the first to arrive at the hanger on Monday morning. It wasn't unusual for Caitlin to be the first one in but it was unusual for Hawke.

He set to work right away on one of the camera mounts and Caitlin started the coffee going and then got to work on the engine of the Piper for Dom. He had some new parts that had come in and Caitlin thought she'd get a head start on it for him.

"What do I see here? My employees already hard at work? String, you need to take Caitlin home with you every weekend if that is the way to get you in early on a Monday!" Dom said as he walked into the hanger.

Hawke looked over at Caitlin whose face turned a bit red and he shrugged. "Why not? Caitlin, you are coming home with me again this weekend, okay?"

"Uh, um…okay!" she said smiling happily.

Dom suddenly felt as if he'd missed something significant. "Wait a minute…you're not kidding, are you?"

Hawke stood up and walked over to his father figure as Caitlin left what she was doing, wiping her hands on a rag.

"Nope," Hawke answered as he slipped his arm around Caitlin's waist and pulled her close.

"No kidding," Caitlin said smiling happily.

Dom stood there for a minute looking at the pair and then a huge smile spread across his face. "You two got together finally?"

Caitlin looked down at the floor for a moment and then back up at the man she thought of as a second father. "Yeah," she said a little embarrassed but oh so happy.

"So, you two spent the whole weekend at the cabin?" Dom asked and Hawke nodded.

"Yep and you are going to be so jealous of the great cooking I was forced to eat this weekend," Hawke teased him.

Dom grinned, he knew that Caitlin was a great cook, he had no doubt she'd fed String well. The kid was still too skinny in his opinion anyway. All those fish and vegetables.

"Well, now that makes me a very happy man seeing you two finally on the same page! And I had a great weekend too, I spent it reading every letter some twice. Oh, Cait, you have no idea how happy you made me bringing that box back with you. I know you said it could have been any of us but it was you and I love you for it, sweetheart," Dom said giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"It was Sinjin's doing, not mine really," Caitlin said. "But I'm sure glad I could be the bearer of good news."

The ringing of the phone interrupted their conversation and Dom picked it up. "Santini Air, oh, hi Michael. What? Okay, thanks!"

"What was that about?" Hawke asked.

"Michael would like you to come to Knightsbridge, he wants to talk to you about Sinjin's possible cover alias. He has a list that he'd like you to take a look at, said he can't trust it to email or the phone just in case," Dom explained.

"Just me?"

"Well, I'd come too but…I really do need to get some things done here. Kevin will be here shortly, why don't you and Cait go and fill me in later? Fly up instead of drive, won't take you near as long," Dom suggested.

"What about my student later?" Caitlin asked.

"Aww if you aren't back I can cover it or Kevin can and Ev will be in later today I can get him to finish up the Piper if I don't get it done. No worries, eh?" Dom told the couple. He didn't mind them going off together for this, in fact he was glad to give the two more time together. They were in a brand-new relationship and he remembered how much you wanted to spend time with the other especially when the feelings were so fresh and new.

"See you kids this afternoon!" Dom had basically dismissed them with a wave and Caitlin looked at Hawke.

"Let's get changed out of these then," Hawke said gesturing at their coveralls.

When they arrived at Knightsbridge, Marella met them outside Michael's office. "Hi, we did a little weekend digging for you," she said with a smile.

"Thank you, Marella. You didn't have to do it that fast, I mean, not like we haven't waited 12 years," Hawke said feeling bad that she spent the weekend working on his behalf.

"Oh, don't worry, I think you guys are worth it," Marella said with a wink and Caitlin found herself smiling at the other woman. Marella had become a good friend over the last year and a half since she'd moved to California.

When they entered Michael's office, the man stood up from his desk and welcomed them. "Glad you could make it. Hope it didn't put Dom out too much, I know you guys have been busy at the hanger lately," Michael said kindly.

"Nah, he's good. Kevin and Ev are covering for us until we get back. So, what did you dig up?" Hawke asked as he and Caitlin settled in chairs across from Michael's desk.

"Based on the information you gave me of when Sinjin was liberated from the camp and based on family information I know one of these names has to be him. James Saint John," Michael said with a grin.

"Yeah, part of dad's name and his. I bet that is his alias," Hawke said with a smile.

"Well, it is Major James Saint John these days and it is looking like Lieutenant Colonel isn't far off based on what the records state. The reason I needed you to come in though is that I have 3 other possible names he might be using in some of his more clandestine ops with the CIA. They were all created around relatively the same time and none are obviously related to him so I thought maybe you might be able to figure out which of these are his. One is Joe Martin, one is David Michael O'Dell…" Michael was cut off though when he saw the recognition on Hawke's face.

"David Michael O'Dell, that's him," Hawke said firmly.

"That sure is a lot different than his actual name," Caitlin said looking at him oddly.

"Yeah, but Mikey was Sinjin's best friend. When we moved in with Dom and switched schools, Mikey and Sinjin became practically attached at the hip. They tolerated my hanging around of course but they were nearly as close as Sinjin and I was. He was a great guy and I know that was why he picked the name, to honor him," Hawke explained.

"Honor him? He died?" Caitlin asked, placing her hand over Hawke's.

He sighed and nodded. "Yeah, his and Sinjin's junior year, Mikey was killed in motorcycle crash. He got caught in a thunderstorm, bad one and somehow went off the road and into a tree. Snapped his neck. We were all devastated by it, he really was a great guy. I know that if he was to choose a name for something like that it would be that name," Hawke explained and turned his hand to thread his fingers with Caitlin's.

Michael raised his eyebrow a bit at their clasped hands and wondered if something had finally changed with the couple. "Well, now we know who to keep tabs on for you and once we make a verification we can send a short, coded message to Sinjin to let him know you got his package. There was one other thing I wanted to discuss since you are here," Michael said leaning back in his chair.

"A mission?" Hawke asked, knowing the look on his friend's face.

"Yes, it came to our attention yesterday that a doctor and nurse with Doctors without Borders had gone missing in Sudan's White Nile State. They were kidnapped but the pair got away, their kidnappers weren't particularly smart but now they are hiding at a mission in South Sudan and are afraid to try to make their way back to their post hospital. The priest and nuns there have them in the basement but they need to get out so they don't draw attention to the mission. They were going to try to get them out in a bus but when the priest wisely decided to try a test run with a few of the nuns some of the same group that had kidnapped the pair had boarded the bus, searching for the missing medics. The church knows they can't get them out that way, so Airwolf is really the best solution. Stealth mode, under the radar, just pick them up and head to the FIRM facility in Italy," Michael explained.

"It is never "just" anything with these missions, Michael," Hawke said with a frown.

"And with two passengers, either Dom or I will be on the bench for this one," Caitlin said reasonably.

"We can draw straws when we get back to the hanger," Hawke said with a shrug. "We'll need refueling."

"I'll have it all set for you. When do you want to leave?" Michael asked.

"This afternoon I guess, if all goes well we can be there and back in less than 36 hours so if we leave here at 3 pm we should be back 3 am on Wednesday," Hawke said.

"Send me your flightplan and I'll get your refueling tankers set up," Michael told him and he and Caitlin left.

When they got back to the hanger and talked to Dom he said that Caitlin should go this time. Hawke was a little surprised, Dom didn't like missing time with his Lady.

"Are you sure, Dom?" Caitlin asked him as Hawke was getting something out of his locker.

"Sure, I'm sure," Dom told her with a grin.

"I'm not used to you just offering me a mission like that," Caitlin told him and he laughed.

"Maybe I am just trying to give the two of you a little time alone. It's a long flight and you two just got together. I'm willing to sit this one out, besides, I'm getting a little old for all this stuff," Dom told her.

"You're not old, Dom," Caitlin told him with a kiss to his cheek. "Just experienced."

He laughed. "You my dear are a terrible liar but I love you anyway," he told her just as Hawke walked up.

"You ready?" he asked Caitlin and she nodded.

"You take care of our girls, eh, String?" Dom told him and Hawke grinned at him.

"Will do!"

They headed out in Hawke's Jeep and chatted a bit about the flightplan and mission.

When the couple arrived at the lair, Hawke radioed Michael from inside Airwolf. "We have an idea," he told the spy and Michael asked him what he had in mind.

"Caitlin mentioned since they already tried the test run maybe if the medics dressed as clergy getting them out safely to Airwolf might be easier," Hawke explained.

"Remember when she and Dom had to come into that prison that time? They came in as a nun and priest. Caitlin suggested they dress the medics and they could be escorted to a safe landing spot about 200 yards from the mission's outermost building. There is plenty of cover there and this way it keeps Airwolf from being seen and maybe avoid any entanglements at all with the kidnappers," Hawke explained.

"It's assuming they won't check closely on the clergy," Michael mused.

"Yeah but you said these aren't the most sophisticated kidnappers and at this time they think that the mission isn't harboring them," Hawke stated.

"Well, Cait usually has pretty good instincts about things like this," Michael mused. "And if it looks like they are going to be intercepted you'll be able to see ahead of time with Airwolf's scanners. It seems the safest and least sticky bet."

"That's what I thought, can you get word to the folks at the mission?"

"Yes, I'll get on that now. Safe travels," Michael told him and Hawke shut down the connection and went to dress in his flightsuit.

Caitlin changed into her flightsuit while Hawke was talking to Michael and climbed into the engineer's station pulling up the satellite imagery of the mission.

When Hawke got into the pilots seat he turned to look back at her.

"You ready?"

"Yeah, I've got the images up on the mission compound. I'm going to switch them to your view screen so you can see what I'm seeing. It looks like there is an animal paddock that is closest to where we can land. If they were to go out there like they are just going to feed the animals, they might be able to slip away, if a large enough group goes out with them and go behind the barn there," Caitlin told him as she circled something on her touch screen which then showed up on Hawke's.

"Yeah, then that means they aren't completely out in the open until the last 100 yards or so leading toward the trees. We'll be just behind that tree line in that small clearing. It looks a little rough and rocky though, I might not be able to put down the landing gear," Hawke said as he started preflight.

"You've done hovering boarding before though. I can get out to help them in," Caitlin said and Hawke turned back to look at her.

"Let's make that a last resort, I don't want you exposed out there just in case," Hawke told her seriously and she nodded.

With their plan in place, Hawke maneuvered the Lady up the chimney and into the sky above the Valley of the Gods.

"Turbos," Hawke said as soon as they were clear.

"You got it," Caitlin answered and they were off climbing up above the clouds.

Caitlin relayed their ideas back to Michael at the NRO base and his people patched them through to the satellite phone at the mission. Caitlin relayed their idea about using the animal paddock and barn and other storage and out building areas to hide their departure. She was informed that the medics were both women, one a surgeon and the other a nurse. They would both be dressed as nuns.

Hawke laughed and made a joke about the flying nun and Caitlin almost snorted.


	7. Chapter 8

**The Sudan Mission -Chapter 8**

The flight to Africa was uneventful and went as typically as most of their missions did. Hawke was an intense pilot but this sort of mission was almost hurry up and wait. They would fly for hours for a very short window of action time and with this small kidnapping group they didn't face any anti-aircraft weapons unless they are shoulder launch and they had no air combat power. So even if the guys saw them and attacked, there wasn't much they could do against Airwolf's armament.

It made for a nice flight where Hawke could play with Airwolf's Mach capabilities a little. Caitlin knew this about him and she'd given him everything he could have to push the Lady a little and have a bit of fun. No one said you couldn't enjoy your work.

Caitlin was going over some of the newest satellite imagery from the last pass of the NRO satellite over the area. Still nothing to worry about from what they picked up so she relaxed a little bit in her seat and stretched.

"You okay?" Hawke asked looking over his shoulder at her.

"Just stretching a little, nothing new from the sat feed so it looks like it might go smoothly for a change," she said and Hawke laughed a little.

'For a change' was right, it seemed like more often than not, things went pear shaped.

"Are you going to come up to the cabin after this mission?" Hawke had to ask and Caitlin grinned inside her helmet.

"If you want me to, figured you might be tired of me being underfoot by now," Caitlin said offering him a way out if he wanted it. She knew that Hawke liked his alone time.

"You are never underfoot," he told her and then admitted something he didn't think he ever would. "Actually, I really like having you at the cabin with me. Not just for obvious reasons but it is nice not to be alone for a change."

Caitlin's face colored a little at the 'obvious reasons' which they'd spent a long time in Hawke's bed, his shower and even his couch this weekend. "You know there is no one in this world I would rather spend time with than you, String, so, if you'll take me by my apartment to pack a bag I'd be glad to go with you when we get back."

"Sounds like a plan, though you shouldn't need to pack much, I don't intend for you to be wearing anything for very long," Hawke teased her and looked back in time to see her cheeks turn red.

"You do that just to see if I turn red, don't you?"

"Of course," he said. "But I'm being honest. I don't plan on you wearing anything but me."

"Oh my God, I can't believe you said that," she giggled but couldn't help looking forward to it.

When they arrived at the Catholic mission, Hawke had been right about not being able to make a wheels down landing in the clearing, it was far too filled with rocks and other debris.

They were on silent and were thankful the area wasn't terribly dusty so it wasn't causing much of an issue and the trees were a great help in hiding Airwolf.

The couple was right on time and Caitlin could see the group of nuns and what looked like children going out to the animal pens. Four nuns broke away at one point from the group, two going toward another structure while two others seemed to be heading toward the fence where bales of hay were sitting. That was the closest to the treeline and Caitlin figured, based on the plan that they were the two medics they were picking up.

The children let out some goats and suddenly there was a lot of confusion and laughter as the children and nuns chased the animals. It was a perfect distraction and Hawke smiled back over his shoulder at Caitlin.

"Looks like they came up with a little improv of their own," Hawke said and she laughed.

"Very smart," she said as they watched the two "nuns" run toward them.

They had to struggle across the rocks and debris toward Airwolf and Caitlin opened the door, calling to them.

They picked up the pace as much as they could and by the time the first medic crawled in they had a Jeep closing in on them with a machine gun. Caitlin called to the other medic to hurry up, she was rather short so the other medic and Caitlin reached out and helped pull her into the cockpit.

They were breathing heavily and flinched and ducked as machine gun fire started bouncing off Airwolf's dark skin.

"Don't worry, she's bullet proof," Caitlin told them as she got them settled.

"Fasten in, we'll be heading out fast," Hawke told them and the ladies did what he said.

It took them only a few minutes to lift off but they saw the Jeep heading toward the mission and Hawke swore under his breath.

"Oh, no you don't," he angled Airwolf down over the trees to hover over the small church.

"They aren't going to take their frustration out on these nuns and kids," Hawke growled and the two medics were sitting wide eyed as he tipped the nose of the Lady toward the Jeep threateningly.

He didn't want to use weapons because of the kids, animals and nuns running around down there but he would if they forced his hand.

"Chain guns," he told Caitlin.

"Hawke, you sure?"

He inched closer and closer to the Jeep. "Now Cait, just let them see her teeth."

Caitlin grinned, understanding what he meant, and punched the button, when the chain guns popped out she could see the looks on the men's faces. The Jeep started backing up again.

"That's right…just keep going," Hawke murmured.

He edged Airwolf closer to them and then suddenly they whipped the Jeep around and sped off into the desert.

He breathed a sigh of relief but worried that they might come back with reinforcements to harm the folks at the mission for helping the medics.

They set down and radioed Michael about the situation, they were able to get a UN patrol to come to the mission for protection. Airwolf and her crew didn't leave until Caitlin picked up the UN patrol on her scanners.

"We can go now, Hawke the cavalry is on the way," she told him and they lifted off.

"Now that the tension is out of the way, I'm Caitlin and this is Hawke, we'll be flying you to Italy," Caitlin explained.

"Thank you, Caitlin and Hawke. I am Dr. Sani Depak and this is the best surgical nurse I know, Sally Martin," the Indian doctor said with a perfectly posh British accent.

"Yes, thank you so much for getting us out of there and making sure those thugs won't retaliate on the folks at the church," Sally told them.

"I am impressed you did not use weapons on them at all. Too many resort to that," Dr. Depak stated and Hawke smiled under his helmet.

"I didn't want to put the civilians at risk, had the situation been different I might have used the weapons," Hawke stated.

"I understand Mr. Hawke but it shows great strength when a man keeps his focus and does not wish to endanger lives under such a situation," the doctor stated. "I've seen far too many take the easier road."

The doctor's face was deeply lined and when she removed the habit over her hair it was almost completely white. She was tiny and almost frail looking yet had a steel in her eyes that told you this woman had seen and done a lot in her life.

Sally was much younger, probably still in her mid-20s. She was a heavier set girl with curly blonde hair and large green eyes hidden by cat eye style glasses.

Caitlin asked them about their work with Doctors Without Borders and told them she'd taken some emergency medical courses because of the work she did and they discussed a few situations they'd worked.

Hawke was always glad to ferry doctors, nurses and medics when he was in the military. They were the real heroes that never really were mentioned much. Everyone talks about the SEAL Teams and the Green Berets or the Rangers but the Navy Corpsmen and Medics…those were the heroes of the heroes.

Dr. Depak had a pleasant voice to listen to, he imagined she was probably a professor as well as working doctor.

"What hospital or university do you work at when you aren't with DWB?" Hawke asked.

"CDC in Atlanta," the doctor answered. "I worked in the past with the UN and with WHO but I'm at the CDC now working on a few research teams."

No wonder they needed her to be rescued. Hawke raised an eyebrow at the tiny woman and nodded.

"Well, I hope you enjoy your time in Italy before you head home," Hawke told her.

"Oh, Sally and I might take a day or two in Rome, just to see the Sistine Chapel perhaps and then we'll head back to our assignment. They still need us there and neither of us are due back at our jobs for several weeks," the doctor said with a smile. "It was a scary detour but we'll complete our mission."

Hawke laughed and so did Caitlin. "We understand that. Complete the mission, no matter what."

"Well, I figure everything happens for a reason," Sally said. "We were able to help treat some of the children at the mission who were suffering from various diseases. So, I just figure we were put where we needed to be."

"That is a very nice way to look at it," Caitlin said with a smile.

The trip to Italy didn't take long at Mach 2 and they landed at Gaeta Naval Base which was in an absolutely stunning location only a little over an hour from Rome.

FIRM and NRO agents met them at the hanger and Airwolf was refueled and had a maintenance once over since they had a long flight back to California.

Hawke and Caitlin had stayed in the hanger, chatting with the women they'd rescued until they left with the NRO and FIRM agents to debrief before they could get some rest.

Hawke and Caitlin were going to stay the night at the base and fly back in the morning but now they were here, Hawke thought it might be nice to take in some sights with Caitlin. Hawke called Michael and asked how many days they could hang out in Italy.

Michael was surprised and asked him why and he told the man, they were 50 miles from Naples and 75 miles from Rome. Why else?

Michael had laughed heartily at that and told him as long as Dom didn't need them at the hanger then he didn't have anything pressing for them to come back right away. But that it would be out of his own pocket, the NRO and FIRM were not going to pay for a vacation. Hawke told the man he didn't figure they would.

He and Cait had only one change of clothes each in their go bags but they could buy something here if they stayed a few days.

"So, what do you think about a quick little vacation here in Italy?" Hawke asked when he walked up to Caitlin sitting at a table.

"Really? Have you cleared it with Dom?" Caitlin asked and he grinned.

"Not yet, but do you really think he'd say no?" Hawke teased and she laughed with a shrug.

"Guess we should call him then," Caitlin said with a grin when Hawke pulled his cell phone from his flightsuit chest pocket.

Of course, Dom had told them yes and even gave them a few tips on places to visit. As long as they were back at work the next Monday he was fine with them taking the rest of the week.

So, they had three days to see the sights before heading back. They decided to sleep on base tonight and rent a car to go to Rome in the morning.

The room at the base was very, very basic but all Hawke cared about was that they had a bed and the bathroom.

True to what he'd said earlier that day all Caitlin wore to bed that night was him.


	8. Chapter 9

Italian Vacation – Chapter 9

The first morning of their unexpected Italian vacation, Hawke rented a car and took Caitlin to Rome. The drive there was beautiful and after checking into their hotel, they spent the entire first day on the West side of the river.

They explored Vatican City and the Trastevere neighborhood with a late afternoon lunch at Cecilia Metella Restaurant on the outdoor patio.

Caitlin almost felt like a princess the way Hawke had treated her, holding her hand, taking her anywhere she wanted and offering to buy just about anything she looked at longer than a few moments. It was like a fantasy date but this was entirely real.

The second day they spent seeing the ruins at the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, and the Roman Forum with dinner at Checchino dal 1887, a very nice restaurant serving old Roman cuisine. It was a recommendation of Dom's and was more than worth it.

Caitlin was surprised by how easily Hawke seemed to show her around the city but then again, he had been to Italy before with Dom when he was younger. What was most surprising was how he didn't seem bothered by the crowds and tourists. He just weaved his way through them with her hand in his and just relaxed and enjoyed himself.

Hawke rarely cared for crowded places but the history and art of the city and memories from when he was younger made it easier for him to just let go of his aversion to crowds. Plus being there with Caitlin made it well worth it.

At moments it almost felt a bit like a honeymoon, Hawke thought to himself. Perhaps it was a bit of a dry run in a way because the more time he spent with Caitlin this way the more he realized he wanted her to be in his life forever.

As they walked hand in hand back to their hotel, Hawke pulled Caitlin close and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She turned to him with a smile and he stopped and pulled her to him for a deeper and more affectionate kiss. "I love you, Cait," he whispered against her lips as other people simply moved around the stopped couple.

"I love you, too," she whispered in return as they began moving with the crowd again. She wasn't sure what brought that on but she certainly wasn't going to complain.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked as she watched him looking around the area.

"That I'm in one of the most romantic and beautiful places in the world with one of the most beautiful women I've ever known and how much I wish we had more time here," he told her.

She blushed a little at his compliment and smiled. "We could always come back again someday."

"Yeah, I'd like that," he answered as they reached their hotel. Maybe a real honeymoon one day? He wasn't sure when, but he knew that one day in the near future he was going to dig out his grandmother Elizabeth's rings and ask Caitlin to marry him.

It was quick to be thinking this Hawke supposed but then again, he'd loved her nearly since the moment he met her. They knew each other, they had been through hell and back a couple times already too. And of all the women he'd dated, there had only been one he'd ever considered marrying before her.

Caitlin, somehow, he'd always imagined her by his side. Even when he thought about the future, even before they started dating, of being old and gray, he'd pictured Caitlin right along with him. He couldn't just assume she'd stick around for him without something more. He glanced over at her in the elevator up to their room and thought about what a child would look like in her arms. His child. Yeah, he had it bad and he really didn't care. Caitlin was his present and his future, he knew that now.

Caitlin stole a glance at Hawke, wondering what the man was thinking. He was just gazing at her with this look on his face she'd rarely ever seen. He often wore an impassive look, always hard to tell what he was thinking but at the moment the look on his face was just utterly adorable. Like he was looking at her for the first time or something. It felt strange but wonderful at the same time.

They were heading back to the base in the morning and even though their time in Italy had been wonderful, she was looking forward to coming back again one day.

Hawke had been so carefree, well really, he'd been that way since she'd brought news of Sinjin being alive. He was still the same man but he'd started joking more, smiling that boyish smile of his more and not brooding as much. It was as if a fog had lifted around him.

One thing she'd also learned was he loved with his whole heart. Once he'd confessed his feelings to her, she knew not just from his words but his every action that he loved her. It left no doubt in her mind or her heart about his feelings, so much so that she found herself imagining a future with him. Not just as they are now as friends and lovers but man and wife and one day as parents. She had never actually dated any man that she'd felt she desired having a child with until now.

When they entered their hotel room, Hawke reached out and pulled Caitlin to him for a sweet kiss. "Cait, I know we only got together this past weekend but…after spending the whole weekend together and then these last few days…I don't want to go home to the cabin alone. Not ever again. Will you…well…I'd like to ask you to move in with me."

Caitlin smiled at him happily. "You'd like to ask or are you asking me to move in with you?" she teased.

"I'm asking," he laughed with his arms around her waist, holding her close.

"Then I'm saying yes," she told him with a tender kiss to punctuate her answer.

She squealed and laughed when Hawke suddenly scooped Caitlin into his arms and carried her to the bed, kissing her the entire way. She certainly enjoyed the way that Hawke had decided to celebrate their decision to move in together.


	9. Chapter 10

Meeting Ghost Team Alpha – Chapter 10

About four months later, Caitlin was now firmly ensconced in the cabin at Eagle Lake. There had been only one minor little squabble over how Hawke didn't sort laundry correctly or perhaps it was that Caitlin wanted to sort them too much. Either way, they ended up laughing with one another before the end of the argument. Other than that, they'd had a surprisingly easy time adjusting to living together.

It was good that they knew each other so well. When it seemed like Hawke needed his alone time, Caitlin would grab a book and just let him be.

Other women Hawke had dated had never understood that about him, how he just needed a little alone time. Time to fish or play his cello or even just take a hike around the mountain on his own. Caitlin didn't feel the need to be in his pocket all the time. She had things she liked to do on her own too.

Caitlin was a voracious reader and she also liked to do crafty things he didn't understand but they were nice when she was done with them. She mostly made things for the orphanage, he'd discovered. It was something he hadn't known, Hawke knew she volunteered but he didn't know that she knitted blankets for the kids at the orphanage. They were colorful things and he'd even found himself watching her some nights while she expertly worked and talked to him by the fire. Hawke found it to be sweet, something that made him feel like he was truly home.

When they got back from Italy and told him, Dom had been absolutely thrilled that the couple were moving in together.

In the last week, the older man had already started pestering Hawke about making it "official" and he'd told his father figure to be patient. Since Hawke didn't blow him off or ignore him about it, that made Dom even happier.

Michael and Marella had found out for sure about the change of status in their relationship and living situation and both were thrilled that Hawke was finally admitting his feelings for Caitlin. Michael realized that Hawke knowing his brother was alive had made a huge difference. They confirmed to Hawke that Sinjin did get their coded message so that seemed to ease everyone's minds.

Their next mission in Airwolf was to fill in for an NRO satellite having problems. They were flying into airspace over Somalia which wasn't a terribly dangerous mission for Airwolf. They had a 70,000-foot ceiling, radar suppression and Mach 2 capabilities and with her ability to hover in place it was better than a satellite in this situation because she wasn't at the mercy of global spin. Her cameras were sensitive enough to pick up targets on the ground within 10 inches of the surface and her audio systems could pick up a whispered conversation inside most common structures. Plus, with her weapons systems if she did somehow get picked up by enemy forces she had more than enough teeth to get the job done.

The worst part of it was the long boring flight on the way there and back. Thirty-six to forty-hour missions were fairly normal though, most of the work lately had all been in the Middle East and Africa though they had a recent mission to North Korea as well.

Dom opted out of this mission which made Hawke pull him aside.

"This is the second mission you've turned down in the last month, Dom. That isn't like you," Hawke asked in concern.

"I know but I really don't feel up to it right now. I love our Lady but I don't think my back can take sitting in her for 36 to 40 hours non-stop. We get us a shorter job and I'll take it but Caitlin can handle this one," Dom told him truthfully. He was 66 years old, his body just couldn't handle that long of a non-stop round trip these days. "I'll be at Knightsbridge with Michael backing you from there. Ev and Kevin can handle the stuff we've got here at the hanger for two days and I'll still be fit to work when you guys get back from the mission."

Hawke frowned a little but he understood. Dom's back had been an issue for years, he was blown out of a helicopter back in Vietnam and had hurt his back badly then and it had given him trouble off and on ever since.

"Okay, we'll keep in touch during the mission then," Hawke told him.

When Hawke and Caitlin arrived at the Valley of the Gods there was a light dusting of snow on the ground and they were both really quick to get changed into their flightsuits and get the outer preflight done.

"Jesus, it's fricken' freezing," Caitlin complained as she settled into the engineer's seat.

Hawke laughed and told her he'd warm her up if they had time and she laughed. "Promises, promises, flyboy," she commented and he grinned over his shoulder at her.

"I always keep my promises," he teased and she laughed again.

Ever since Sinjin had gotten in touch with Hawke after all these years the man had become much more open and flirted and teased with her more than he ever had. It was wonderful to be witness to the man seeming to come back to life. Dom had told her that he hadn't seen String this happy since before Sinjin left for the Army.

She had loved Stringfellow Hawke since the first time they spoke and she found herself falling more and more in love with the man every day.

The trip across the ocean toward Africa was uneventful and Hawke had opened up Airwolf and pushed her Mach capabilities just to let her stretch her legs. He loved the way that the machine seemed to just be a part of him, it was a feeling he hadn't had with any other aircraft before. He loved flying, always had but flying Airwolf was a connection that was amazing.

"We have our refueling coming up in about 20 minutes at current speed," Caitlin announced. Hawke made the necessary adjustments for the rendezvous and Caitlin set in the course to the refueling plane as it came up on her screen just south of Madagascar.

They were just under an hour from Somalia after the refueling and started the steep climb into the stratosphere.

"We will need to hover over Mogadishu for about 2 hours before the next satellite will be able to come into position to take back over," Caitlin advised and Hawke stretched his shoulders a little.

"All right, feed the coordinates in where they want us to hold position," he said and Caitlin did so.

Once they were 'in place' Caitlin turned on all the scanning equipment and they started recording and transmitting back to Knightsbridge base.

"How's my girl doing?" Dom asked over the radio and Caitlin grinned.

"She's doing just great, Dom. You guys getting the feed?" she asked, knowing it took a few seconds to transmit to the satellite and back to base.

"Yep, Michael's crew is working away," Dom told them.

Michael and Marella were going over the data coming in and suddenly Marella said, "Oh, my God," and then she ran over to pick up a headset and started talking to someone.

"Why didn't anyone tell us?" Michael asked as he joined her at her console.

"Undercover mission, this was why they were adamant about having some sort of satellite support in this area tonight," Marella told him.

"All right, so this has gone from a standard monitor mission to possible support," Michael said and came over to Dom.

"Hawke, Cait, we have some activity going on down there. Your mission may have to switch from monitor to material combat support if things on the ground go south. We have an American Special Ops group moving in on a central warehouse facility. Mission critical they are going in to take out a weapons cache being used by multiple terrorist groups and take ring leaders into custody. We will monitor and watch out for them; their team leader will communicate with us shortly. Hawke, I need you to stay focused on task. Team leader is your brother," Michael said and waited for Hawke to respond.

Hawke nearly froze up on the controls when Michael's words sunk in. Sinjin was down there. He was only 70,000 feet from his brother.

"String?" Caitlin said his name in concern, he'd grown extremely still and silent.

"Yeah, yeah I…got it, Michael. Cait, stay on that video screen, watch their six," he said firmly.

"On it," she said, cleaning up the imagery a little at her console and watching for anything unusual.

She could see the team moving in. "We have a seven-man team moving in from the east side of the city, they are confirmed, American soldiers," she said, seeing their patches on their arms clearly even in the dark. Airwolf's cameras were amazing.

"This is Ghost Team Alpha, we have target visual and moving into place, over," the voice was strong and clear and was very recognizable from all the videos and audio files Sinjin had sent them.

Hawke swallowed hard and closed his eyes for a moment saying a little prayer for his brother.

"Ghost Team Alpha, this is NRO Recon Airwolf, we read you. You're clear on the east side, ten subjects at target. Stay clear of the wall west and north, that is your highest concentration of firepower, over," Caitlin relayed.

She continued to scan the area and drew back on the zoom to see a wider shot. "Shit," she said and Hawke turned to her.

"Ghost Team, take cover, there are two vehicles with mounted guns coming your way from due west of your position, over," Caitlin relayed.

It was quiet for a few minutes while the team took cover and the vehicles passed by, one of them stopped in front of the doors of the warehouse and Caitlin swallowed hard.

"Ghost Team, do you have visual on the second vehicle?"

"Visual confirmed, Airwolf they stopped, got a better count than me? We see 4 targets, over," Sinjin said and Cait looked closer at the heat register.

"Five, there is one additional heat signature in the back of the vehicle, over," Caitlin relayed.

"Roger. I got…a bad feeling, Airwolf, can you confirm air support coming our way for extraction after we blow this place, over?"

Caitlin checked her wide range radar screen and saw nothing. She looked again, adjusting the radar and Michael cut in on the radio.

"They are delayed, sandstorm," Michael answered.

"Shit, they'll need extraction they can't stay on the ground the locals will tear them apart," Hawke snapped and Michael had to agree with him.

"Extraction team delayed 15 minutes, they are pushing through the storm on instruments only, would you be able to offer cover support for the team if needed?" Michael asked.

"I'm going to need a few seconds to get down there," Hawke complained.

He didn't wait for anyone to say anything, he started Airwolf into a controlled dive from their current position. They could hover well above anything the terrorists could hurl at them until they were needed. "Taking the Lady to 30,000 feet, that'll be higher than anything they can send our way, base," Hawke advised.

"Ghost Team, Airwolf is in route for cover until extraction team arrives. Mission is still a go, repeat, mission is still a go, over," Caitlin said.

"Roger, Airwolf. Mission go, Ghost Team out," Sinjin said as he and his team began to move into place setting charges along the walls of the facility and circling around another building to come up behind the vehicle.

They were to capture several of the terrorists for interrogation and blow the whole facility. Hawke understood quickly what their mission was and decided if needed, Airwolf could finish off the facility for them.

"Ghost Team, take out your targets, we can take out the facility, we are missile armed, over," Hawke said into the radio.

Sinjin's radio clicked on and clicked off twice before he answered, obviously having recognized his brother's voice. "Airwolf, appreciate the back up. Going radio silent until we're clear, over," Sinjin said and Caitlin patched the view of the ground to Hawke's viewscreen.

"I know you want to watch," she said when he turned to glance back at her. They were now hovering at 30,000 feet.

Caitlin started a weapons scan on the ground. "Hawke, we are safe to drop to 20,000, they have nothing new enough to go higher than that."

He edged the cyclic forward and dropped altitude and then hovered again, watching the screen as his brother and his team silently snuck up on the arms dealers and terrorists.

Two of Ghost Team were able to capture their targets silently and move them to a holding area. One team member stayed with the captives while the other returned to Sinjin's side and they captured two more, moving them to join the others and Sinjin returned by himself. One of the other men on the team however was seen by one of the arms dealers and weapons fire began being exchanged. Sinjin signaled his team to fall back and they set off the explosives they'd set earlier.

Unfortunately, that drew the townspeople out and Hawke swore as he dove from their position.

"Extraction team will be here in 10 minutes," Caitlin told him.

"Ten minutes too late," Hawke grumbled as he called for missiles. Caitlin had them ready and he fired two missiles directly into the warehouse.

The radio crackled. "I sure as hell hope that was you, Airwolf!"

"Roger, Ghost Team, you have townspeople heading your way, there is an alleyway to your left, take it and then there is an openair staircase to the roof of a building there. It is the third building on the right of the alley, go there and await extraction. We will lay cover fire, over," Caitlin told him.

"Roger. Ghost Team in-route, over," he told her and she and Hawke could see them making their way down the alley.

Airwolf howled as she came in like a Valkyrie to hover over the alley and provide the team cover.

Her weapons were on display and Hawke was just waiting for them to fire first. He wasn't here necessarily to engage, so he wouldn't shoot unless they were shot at. That lasted maybe five minutes and they were under machine gun fire that was just glancing off Airwolf's skin.

"They are on the roof now," Caitlin advised and Hawke moved Airwolf into a protective stance over the building.

"Missile incoming," Caitlin called and hit counter measures.

"Neutralized," she said as Hawke laid down chain gun fire trying to buy them time.

"Extraction team incoming, two Blackhawks coming in from the south," Caitlin said.

"Tell them not to shoot us," Hawke said and Caitlin laughed.

"U.S. Blackhawks, this is NRO Airwolf, we are laying protective fire for Ghost Team," Caitlin relayed on the open channel.

"NRO Airwolf, got you on our three, is that rooftop landing capable?"

"Negative," Hawke said into the radio. "You'll need to do a hovering pick up, we don't know if that building will hold you, over."

"Grrrreat," one of the pilots complained.

"Need me to show you how?" Hawke teased.

"Ha, smart ass, just keep us from getting shot," one of the pilots said and Hawke laughed.

Caitlin was grinning inside her helmet at the exchange.

She kept her eye on both the radar and the view of Ghost Team on the roof. One of the prisoners was struggling but couldn't do much with his hands cuffed. He did manage to slam his body into one of the men though and nearly knock him off the building roof.

One of the team had a pistol to his head immediately after and the man stopped struggling. The Blackhawk lowered into position, just barely setting one skid on the roof as they waited on the team to get in. The prisoner who struggled so much, continued and there was a tussle going on in the hatch of the Blackhawk.

Sinjin got sick of it and grabbed the guy in a headlock and leapt back out of the helicopter both of them landing hard on the rooftop. He managed to pin the man down and knock him out. Sinjin struggled back up under the weight of his gear and the dead weight of the man. He ran back over to the Blackhawk and handed him up.

Gunfire began coming from the other side of the building and the other Blackhawk was engaging. Sinjin waved off his team's helicopter. He'd get back on one of the others.

The other Blackhawk wasn't able to get to the rooftop because they were taking far too much fire from that side of the building.

Hawke waited on the other helicopter to pull away a little more and he heard Sinjin order the loaded Blackhawk to head to base. "This is Ghost Team leader, I'm gona need a lift here, over," Sinjin said into the radio.

"Blackhawk 643 Negative pickup. We're taking heavy fire on this side, if we move you might end up like Swiss cheese, sir," the Blackhawk pilot advised.

"Ghost Team leader stay put, we've got you," Hawke said as he lowered Airwolf into position over the rooftop. He didn't extend the landing gear and Caitlin gave him position data so he could lower almost down onto the roof. Cait popped the countermeasures hatch and Sinjin pulled himself into the seat.

"Ghost Team extraction complete, Blackhawk 643 take lead. Head to base for debriefing," Sinjin said into the radio on his shoulder and he laid his helmet covered head back against the seat as Hawke pulled Airwolf up and away from the city.

Hawke's hands were shaking on the cyclic, his brother was sitting right beside him.

"After I'm finished having this heart attack I'll talk to you, String," Sinjin said with a grin on his face.

"You're having heart attack? I had to drop from 70,000 feet to save your ass," String complained.

Sinjin's head snapped up and he looked over at his brother. "Seventy thousand feet? Good, God. This thing can…wow," he blurted and then turned to see Caitlin whose eyes were sparkling.

"Oh, hey there, Red. I'd recognize those pretty eyes and freckles anywhere. Thanks so much for all the help," he told her and she laughed.

"You okay?" she asked.

"I think so, that little bastard had a hard head though, my hand hurts like hell," Sinjin said taking off his glove and shaking out his right hand.

"I can't believe this, after all these years," Hawke said and sighed as he looked at his brother.

"I couldn't have asked for better back up," Sinjin said with a grin and leaned over and pulled Hawke against him, resting their two helmeted heads together for a moment.

Caitlin jumped when Dom's voice boomed into the cockpit. "Sinjin! You're a crazy fool, why the hell did you jump out with that guy?"

Sinjin hung his head. "I needed to get my men out, Dom. God, it's good to hear your voice, are you at base?"

"No, no I'm in California, we've been monitoring from our base here," Dom told him and you could see the disappointment on Sinjin's face.

"Oh, well, you take care of yourself, Dom. There is so much I want to tell you. I miss you," he said and back in California Dom had to clear his throat before he could answer.

"I miss you too, kid. You stay safe and come home soon, please?" Dom asked.

"I'll see what I can do, Dom."

Hawke didn't actually know what base they were headed to, so he was just following the other Blackhawks, from the heading they appeared to be going to Kenya.

"Hey fuzz face, you want to beat your team back to your base?" Hawke asked his brother teasing him about his beard and Sinjin raised an eyebrow.

"This thing can do that?"

"Oh, yes she can, where we headed?"

"Manda Bay," Sinjin told him and heard Caitlin tapping on the keyboard behind him.

"Mach 2 we can be in Manda Bay in 25 minutes," Caitlin announced. She checked radar ahead of them, "We're clear, nothing incoming for 300 miles. We should be able to go ahead."

"NRO base this is Airwolf, we are going ahead to Manda Bay we'll meet the rest of the team there," Hawke said into the radio.

"Confirmed, Airwolf. You're clear all the way on our radar," Marella told him and Hawke grinned.

"This is Ghost Team leader, my bird is a bit faster guys, we are going ahead to base, meet you there," Sinjin said into his radio and raised an eyebrow at String.

Hawke nodded. "Lock it in, Cait, disengage rotors and give me turbos."

"You got it," Caitlin announced and Hawke hit the button on his cyclic.

Sinjin was pressed back into his seat and he shouted. "Holy shit!" and both Hawke and Caitlin laughed.

"Oh my God, you have to let me fly this thing sometime," Sinjin said in awe.

"Come home and I'll let you fly her whenever you want," Hawke told him seriously and Sinjin looked over at him.

"You're serious?" Sinjin asked.

"I'm sure you could get a job with us at NRO. You have to decide if you are ready to come home or if you still need to be Jason Bourne or something," Hawke told him and Sinjin laughed.

"This mission tonight might be the end of the line for me anyway. That warehouse and that little turd I knocked out was the culmination of several years of special ops work. Fitting you were here for it as my backup," Sinjin said with a grin.

"We were only supposed to monitor, didn't know until our base told us while we were hovering 70,000 feet above you and then we saw you had company, we had to move in."

"Oh, Jesus. Sorry," Sinjin said.

"Hawke, we need to drop out of Mach we are approaching the base," Caitlin announced.

"Got it," he said and slowed Airwolf. "Speed slowing, 1200, 1000, 800, 600, 400…engage rotors."

"Engaged."

"Wow," Sinjin murmured as they made their approach and Caitlin radioed in their call sign and mission.

"Cleared for landing at hanger 4," Caitlin told them and Hawke maneuvered Airwolf into landing.

When they got out, Sinjin removed his camo helmet and scrubbed his hands through his hair. It was still sweat damp and he felt grimy. He smiled when he looked up as Hawke helped Caitlin out of the impressive helicopter.

He grinned wider when he saw his brother give the red head a kiss on the lips before he brought her over to him.

"So, I see things worked out with you and String," he told Cait and she blushed red and Hawke raised an eyebrow at her.

"You could say I have you to thank for that," Caitlin said with a grin. "We ah, we've been living together for a few months now."

"Me?" Sinjin asked incredulously.

"Finding out you were alive and okay…sort of gave me a kick in the butt and I told Caitlin how I felt about her," Hawke admitted.

"Glad to be of help then!" Sinjin said with a laugh. "Now are you going to hug your big brother or do I need to beg?"

Hawke laughed and wrapped his arms around his brother blinking to try to hold back tears. God, he'd missed this man so much.

Sinjin too was having to fight tears as he hugged his little brother for the first time in way too many years.

Caitlin wasn't quite as able to keep from crying as she watched the two brothers embrace each other. This certainly wasn't what she thought this mission would be like and she felt bad that Dom hadn't come instead of her.


	10. Chapter 11

Paving the Road Home - Chapter 11

When the rest of Ghost Team arrived at the base, one of Sinjin's men ran up to him laughing.

"How in the hell did you get here so fast?"

Sinjin laughed and pointed at Airwolf. "That's all her and the crazy pilot of her, Major Chris Champion I'd like you to meet my baby brother, Captain Stringfellow Hawke, his team works for the NRO and was our backup tonight," he explained and Champion smiled hugely.

"You're his brother? Oh hell, man that, wow. Great to meet you, I've covered your brother's six for about 8 years now. Heard all about you," Champion said happily.

"Thank you for keeping him out of trouble for so long," Hawke told him and Champion laughed.

"That ain't an easy gig either, they are going to take the prisoners in for interrogation with the CIA dudes, you want to sit in or just let the CO handle it?"

"I think I'd rather sit it out, I'm not feeling too friendly toward Mr. Magasawai," Sinjin said and Hawke smirked. "Besides, I'd like to take a little time to catch up before the NRO yanks them back to California."

"No problem," Champion answered and then spotted Caitlin a few feet away. "Oh, hello there, are you the one with that pretty southern accent who was helping us out?"

Caitlin laughed. "Yes, sir."

"I ain't really worth a sir but would you mind sharing a really bad cup of coffee?" he asked.

Caitlin shook her head. "Sorry, I'm spoken for," she told him and he shook his head.

"Well damn, all the pretty ones are, aren't they? It was nice to meet you….what was your name again?"

"I don't think I gave it, but it's Caitlin O'Shannessy."

"Irish to the core, huh? Nice to meet ya' ma'am!" he said as he ran back over to the group escorting the prisoners into the hanger.

Hawke was giving Champion a slight glare and Sinjin laughed. "Champ is nothing but hot air and a flirt is all," he assured his brother.

"Hmm," Hawke murmured and reached out to tangle his fingers with Cait's. She just smiled at him as they headed into the facility.

"Come on, I need to change out of all this mess, you guys can grab some coffee in the cafeteria while I get cleaned up," Sinjin told them as he led the couple into the hanger and then went through a door on the opposite side from where his team had gone.

"Ghost Team, huh?" Hawke asked with a smirk.

"On account we are all 'dead' to the rest of the world," Sinjin told him. "Military has never been terribly creative with names."

"You're Army but I noticed Champion's insignia was Marines," Hawke stated.

"Yeah, we are a mixed bag, our corpsman is Navy, Champ is a Marine, two others besides myself are Army, one is Air Force Special Tactics and one is a Navy Seal. We work exclusively with DIA these days," he explained as they entered into a hallway and he led them to the cafeteria.

"Here we are, you guys can get some coffee, hot meal if you need it and I'll join you in about 20 minutes," Sinjin told them and headed back down the hall presumably to wherever his bunk was.

"How are you feeling?" Caitlin asked as they entered the cafeteria and headed for the coffee.

"Like I'm in some surreal dream," Hawke told her and she laughed.

"I thought earlier that this sure wasn't how I expected this day to end," she said with a grin. "Happy about it though."

"Me too. I just…God, he's just. He's really good at what he does. I watched them, watched him on the video feed when I could. I know he loves to fly as much as I do but he is a great ground soldier too. You know he kept tabs on every one of his guys, you could see it, the way his head moved the entire time, he was keeping count. Watching his men closely," Hawke said a little in awe of his big brother. Caitlin smiled at him.

"That's his job and he obviously loves his team plus…you do the same thing," she said as she filled her cup.

"What do you mean?"

"You do the same thing, String," she said with a laugh. "You don't realize it I guess but you do the exact same. Anytime we are on the ground during a mission you are constantly watching for Dom or myself or whomever we are working with. You count too, I've heard you. You tick off seconds as we work, you watch and critique. How many times have you given Dom hell about watching his left side? Or me watching my back, telling me to keep my back to obstacles so no one can sneak up on me?" Caitlin told him.

"Oh, I guess I just never realized I did that," Hawke said remembering that he did do those things but they just came second nature to him.

"Your training is a part of you, String just like it is with your brother. His probably even more so after being over here in the thick of things for so long," Caitlin said with a shrug as she added some sugar and creamer to the coffee. It was far too strong for her straight.

Hawke grinned at her doctoring up her coffee. "Military still can't make a decent cup of coffee," he said gesturing at her cup.

"It's awful," she laughed.

Hawke settled in a chair next to her and reached up to cup her chin. "Thank you for doing such a great job tonight, finding them a way out and keeping me focused," he told her and then brushed his lips lightly against hers.

Caitlin pulled him closer and gave him a deeper kiss, much to his pleasure.

"I love you, Stringfellow Hawke," she told him and he smiled.

"I love you too."

They heard the door open and looked up to see Sinjin in civilian clothing heading their way.

"I almost feel human again," he announced as he headed for the coffee pot. His blonde hair was still damp and Hawke thought he looked so different with that beard on his face.

"Army regs don't apply to your team?"

"Hmm? Oh, the hair and the beard? Yeah, we have to try to blend in with the locals if we can. Course my hair color is not real conducive to that," Sinjin said with a laugh.

"You look like a mountain man or something," Hawke teased him and Sinjin sat down across from them.

"Yeah, itchy as hell too but you get used to it. So, you and Cait are living together now? Man, that happened fast, I only met miss thang over here 4 months ago," Sinjin teased and the couple both laughed.

"Things and priorities changed when I found you were alive and well," String answered.

"I'm sorry about that. I really am. I swore I thought my first messages had gotten to you guys. I'd never have left you and Dom hanging like that, despite the damn rules you guys are my family. I'm not the only one of the guys in our team who have tried to get at least some messages to their families," Sinjin admitted. "We've all sorta broken a few rules there."

"Sinjin, were you AWOL when you met me in Egypt?" Caitlin asked quietly.

"Eh, um. Yeah," he admitted with a sheepish look on his face. String just laughed.

"You idiot," he told him and Sinjin shrugged.

"Champ knew where I was and covered for me," Sinjin said and took a drink of his coffee.

"What are your plans? You said this might be the end of your operation, will you come home now?" Caitlin asked and Sinjin sighed.

"I want to. I'm getting a bit old for this crap and to be honest, I never planned for it to go on this long," Sinjin admitted. "I'd like to go home and have a life, find someone like your Cait here and make some babies. There has to be more to life than getting shot at every day in this shit hole that's for sure," he added.

Caitlin looked down at the table when Sinjin talked about babies and felt her heart constrict a bit. She certainly wanted that with his brother too.

Hawke chuckled a little. "You think you can handle civilian life after all the time you've spent here?"

"God, I dunno. You transitioned, didn't you?"

"Well, I'm not exactly working a 9 to 5 job either," String told him and Sinjin laughed.

"How'd you end up with the NRO anyway?" Sinjin asked as he shifted sideways and straightened his legs out, crossing them at the ankles.

"I got shot and was recouping in Rammstein when a DIA guy came in and offered me a job. He was a real arrogant prick too so I tossed his card and then later that day another guy came in. His codename is Archangel, his name is Michael Coldsmith-Briggs III of all things but despite the snooty sounding name he was a pretty decent guy. Asked me to come to work for them, didn't lean too heavily on me about it, stroked my ego a bit about my piloting skills and said he had a project he'd like me to work on with him. I told him that I would think about it. He left a folder with a drawing of Airwolf, I think he knew that would get me," String explained.

"You always did fall for pretty birds," Sinjin teased him and winked at Caitlin who blushed.

Hawke grinned and shook his head. "Yeah, anyway if you did want to come home I'm sure we could find you a spot on our team. Dom's been complaining about his back a lot lately and he is 66 years old. I think he's wanting to slow down a bit," Hawke told him and Sinjin looked over his mug at his brother in concern for their foster father.

"That bad?"

"Yeah, he begged off this mission and the last long mission we had. He'll take the short hops but lately anything over 24 hours and he won't do it. Says his back bothers him too much these days. I've been worried about him, Cait has been too," Hawke explained.

"He just doesn't seem to have the energy he had just a year ago," Caitlin said softly. She loved Dom like a father.

"Then I think maybe I need to have a talk with my CO," Sinjin said with finality in his tone. Dom wasn't getting any younger and he damn well wasn't going to stay until the old guy up and keeled over before he got to see him again.

"You sure, this isn't just a spur of the moment thing because we're here, right?" Hawke asked, a little worried his brother, despite how much he wanted him to come home might regret making a choice too fast.

"Oh, I'm sure of it. When I caught up with Cait in Egypt, I knew after we talked on the phone that I was more homesick than ever. Seeing you now and hearing about Dom…I want to be there for you guys. I've missed far too much and I'm tired, String," Sinjin explained with a heavy sigh.

"Well, we'd be happy to have you. You know Dom's kept your old room exactly the same. Posters and all," String told him and Sinjin laughed.

"I figured he'd have turned it into some sort of library or something," he said with a grin.

"Nah, he hasn't even changed my old room for some reason," Hawke said with a shrug.

"My mom is the same, she hasn't changed my room a bit, always freaks me out when I go home and have to sleep in a pink canopy bed," Caitlin said with a laugh.

"You, little miss tom boy had a pink bedroom?" Hawke teased her and she shook her head.

"Not by choice, mom tried so hard to make me more girly by making my room all pink and frilly, buying me dresses and I'd just put shorts on under them and play with the boys anyway," she said with a laugh. "Imagine me in a frilly pink lace dress, mud boots and playing in the creek with my brothers catching frogs. Mom was furious."

Both brothers laughed at the very image of a little red headed girl with freckles, mud on her face and all over a pink dress with Wellington boots standing in a creek with a frog in her hand. It was a pretty vivid picture for both of them and Hawke wondered if his and Cait's daughter would be like that. Whoa…his and Cait's daughter? Hmm, he'd thought of kids with her before. Maybe one of these days.

"You guys want to stay the night here on base? We have the room and you can fly back out fresh tomorrow or…if you can stay a few days or something," Sinjin offered not knowing what their schedule was.

"Well, let me get in touch with Michael. You, you use Cait's phone and call Dom," String told him and Sinjin nodded.

Caitlin handed over her phone and Sinjin took it with a grateful nod and moved over to another table to call Dom while String called Michael.

Caitlin watched the way both brothers sat and realized they shared the same mannerisms. Even with them apart from one another for so long, they sat the same way and even held their phones in the same way. It amused her a little how much alike they were despite the time apart.


	11. Chapter 12

Homecoming - Chapter 12

When Sinjin left String and Caitlin at a room to get some rest, he headed back to the command center to talk to his CO about the mission and his future.

Once he finished his debrief on the mission, Sinjin looked up at his commanding officer, Brigadier General Lucas Chandler and the man knew Sinjin well enough to know he had more on his mind.

"You want to go home, don't you, son?"

"Yes, sir. I didn't know it was going to take this long and now that we have Magasawai and his network is broken up I just would like to transfer my commission to the NRO at Knightsbridge where my brother works," Sinjin explained.

"You aren't cashing out you're just moving the game then," the General said with a grin.

"I suppose so, you know my first love was always flying, General and my brother has need of another pilot for that rig of his," Sinjin explained.

The General laughed at that and nodded. "We are going to miss you, Sinjin. You've become quite an excellent team leader."

"Thank you, sir but it's time. I want to settle down while I'm still young enough to enjoy it. A wife, kids, you know the drill. Champion is ready, he can run the team just as good if not better than me, sir," Sinjin told his commander and the General nodded.

"We can do this pretty quick if you want, after all, you're dead," the General said with a laugh. "If you want to return with your brother I'm sure we can do that. In fact, why don't I call up Archangel and see what we can arrange?"

"You know him, sir?"

"Yeah, he was a good man in Desert Storm, worked with him back then. He was torn up pretty bad in an IED attack. Lucky to be alive," Chandler explained.

Meanwhile, in their room, Hawke and Caitlin had pulled the two cots close together and were cuddled up as best as they could be.

"They didn't exactly intend these for couples," Hawke laughed and she giggled as well.

"We need to rest anyway," Caitlin told him.

"Hmm, yeah, kinda hard to fall asleep though after tonight."

"I know. Isn't it great he wants to come home now?" Caitlin asked him as she lay facing String on her own cot just inches from his.

"It is. I'll believe it when it happens though. He's been here so long. I worry that he's going to regret leaving behind his buddies and all this excitement," Hawke admitted.

"I think you worry too much," Caitlin told him with a grin. "Airwolf, rescue missions and stunt pilot work is pretty exciting too."

"Yeah, it is. I guess it's just been so long I'm a little afraid he'll change his mind," Hawke said softly and Caitlin reached out and caressed his cheek.

"String, have a little faith," she whispered and he turned and kissed her palm.

"You're right, I'm worrying over what I'm afraid of, not what I know."

The next morning the couple was awakened by a sharp few raps on the door.

"Come on, love birds, time for breakfast!" Sinjin barked at the door and they heard someone with him laughing that sounded an awful lot like Champion.

"Be there in a few!" Hawke called as he and Caitlin got out of the cots and dressed. They always packed go bags and were thankful they had for this mission too. Cait quickly brushed her teeth in the tiny bathroom and gave it over to Hawke to do his, they couldn't both fit in there at the same time.

When they got to the cafeteria Sinjin was sitting with his whole team. Hawke led Cait over to the chow line and they got some food and coffee and joined Sinjin and his men.

"Everyone, these folks were our backup last night from the NRO. But more importantly this is my brother, Stringfellow Hawke and his engineer Caitlin O'Shannessy, she's also his girl so no hitting on her," Sinjin announced.

Caitlin blushed a little when all the men stood until she sat down next to Hawke.

"So, you're the infamous little brother, good to meet you, Stringfellow," one of the men said. "My name is Alex Jones, you can call me Jonesy."

"Nice to meet you," Hawke told him and they shook hands, they then made the rounds, being introduced to the full team.

Once everyone was settled in to eat Sinjin leaned over to String. "I talked to my CO last night and to Michael, I'll be flying home with you after I wrap everything up here," he whispered.

Hawke's head snapped back and looked at him in shock. "Seriously?"

"As a heart attack. I'm done, Champ is going to take my place here," Sinjin told him. "He already knows."

The smile on String's face was so open and happy that Caitlin immediately knew it had to mean that the brothers were talking about Sinjin coming home. Nothing could make String that happy besides that.

"You gona tell us what this family breakfast is all about Major?" Jonesy asked.

"Well guys, you know that finding and taking out Magasawai has been my objective for many years now. Getting his arms out of the hands of all the different terror networks has been my main focus and now that we've accomplished that with our raid and the Beta Team's raid in Sudan last night, well, I'm going home," Sinjin told them and all of the men started protesting.

"Guys, come on now, you know he's always had this plan," Champion said.

"Yeah, you guys are going to be in good hands with Champ here and hopefully I'll see you all again stateside sometime, right? I need to get home. I'll still be in the military, I'm going to join my brother at the NRO so heck, I might be backing you guys like they did us last night, ya never know," Sinjin explained and the guys nodded.

"We'll miss you, man," Lieutenant Cody Banks, the youngest on the team told him and Sinjin nodded.

"I'll miss all of you guys too, but it's time guys. I've been over here 16 years," Sinjin told them and the team all nodded in understanding.

He had the most years of any of them on the team and he deserved the chance to go home but he'd been an amazing team leader for them the last eight years.

"We all know that your name, the name we know you by isn't your real name. Who should we look up stateside?" Jonesy asked. The only one who knew his real name on the team was Champ.

"You'll be looking for Saint John Hawke, or Sinjin Hawke," he told them, having not said his real name in a long, long time.

"No shit? That's one fu...um, weird name," one of the guys blurted, censoring himself when he remembered Caitlin was at the table.

String started to laugh. "Nice to hear someone else get picked on for the weird name for a change," he teased and Sinjin shoved him.

"So, goodbye Major James St. John and hello Sinjin Hawke? What the hell kinda name is Sinjin anyway?" Jonesy asked and Sinjin laughed.

"Old English so I've been told. It was kind of nice having a normal name. We both caught hell as kids because our parents had to name us after family members with weird names," Sinjin explained.

"Well, I've known you as James for six years, it might take me a while to get used to it," another man who'd obviously had a broken nose more than once said, he'd been introduced as Grissom earlier to them.

"When are you leaving?" Banks asked.

"Today, I'll need to finish packing up my stuff and we'll leave today."

"How quick will you guys get back to Cali in that beast you flew in with?" Champ asked.

"About 6 hours 27 minutes," Caitlin answered.

"No kiddin'? That's what Mach 2?"

"A little under unless String decides to push Airwolf a bit, if so, we could probably get there under 6 hours," Caitlin explained as she finished up her eggs. "With a third person and Sinjin's gear though probably 6.5 hours and we'll refuel off the East Coast."

"That thing can do a midair hook up?"

"Yep," Caitlin answered with a grin over her mug.

"Ain't that cool, no wonder you want to go back if you get to fly something like that, Major. I know you been missing flying again," Banks told him and Sinjin smiled.

"Yeah, that does sweeten the deal a bit but I'm looking forward to just going up to the mountains where it is cool and green and fishing for trout and just relaxing for a bit too. Man, I've missed that," Sinjin said honestly, he truly had missed just relaxing without worrying about getting his butt shot off.

"That does sound nice, man," Champ admitted. "Maybe in a few more years I can do something similar."

"Any of you would be welcome," String told them and Sinjin smiled at him.

Leaving that afternoon was a little bittersweet for Sinjin, he was finally after 16 years going home but he was going to miss his team. They had become best of friends, brothers and each other's caretakers at times. They'd experienced lost team members together and they had shared in each other's failures and triumphs over the years.

String and Caitlin left Sinjin to say goodbye to his team in private as they did the preflight on Airwolf, getting her set for the trip back halfway across the planet. They double checked all of her systems since she'd taken quite a bit of fire the night before but she was in good shape, needed a wash down but other than that she was in good order. They'd been refueled by the hanger team and were just waiting for Sinjin to join them. He was wearing an Army flightsuit since they didn't have one that fit him.

Sinjin popped the countermeasures hatch and got in. His duffle and backpack had been stowed earlier and String handed him a helmet.

"Hope this works over all that fur, you going to shave that monster off or you keeping it?" String asked as Sinjin got settled.

"Ha, ha. I thought I'd at least let Dom see it before I remove it I've had this thing for more than 12 years now."

"Ugh, how do you stand it?" String said and Sinjin laughed.

"It's helpful out in the desert though, I'm going to look weird when I shave it too, half my face white and the other tanned," Sinjin commented and Caitlin giggled.

"What?"

"I had a girlfriend who fell asleep on the beach with her sunglasses on. She looked like a reverse raccoon," she said still giggling and he started to laugh too.

"That's not exactly a look I want to go for, maybe I'll just trim this thing down," Sinjin said with a grin and she laughed.

"That might be a good idea," she told him as they took to the air.

They talked about changes back home a little while they were flying. Hawke filling his brother in on old friends they'd had and things going on back at the hanger, what they'd been doing with the NRO and so on.

"So, how'd you two meet?" Sinjin asked and Caitlin laughed.

"The first time I laid eyes on your brother he was a mess, he'd been beaten up and was in a jail cell," Caitlin said and Sinjin looked over at String.

"What the hell were you doing in jail?"

Hawke and Caitlin filled him in on his friend Jimmy and the problem with the Sherriff in Pope County, Texas.

"So, that's how a former Texas Highway Patrol officer ended up at Santini Air, I did wonder," Sinjin said. "Glad you took out that Sherriff he sounds like he was really sadistic."

"He was, his lackeys tried to rape me twice," Caitlin said not even thinking and Airwolf actually shuddered as Hawke spun to look at her with a glare that surprised her.

He knew about the first time in the back of that pick up but she never once mentioned a second time.

"Twice?"

"Uh, well you saved me both times, the time on the road and then when you came back to town with Airwolf, they had me locked in a cell and those same rednecks wanted to try again saying that I wasn't going to be saved a second time. I fought as much as I could but if you hadn't shown up when you did…well, I might not have been able to hold them off much longer," she admitted.

"Why the hell didn't you say anything?"

"Well, it isn't exactly casual conversation, String," she told him.

He looked at her oddly for a moment and then turned back to edge Airwolf back up to speed. She could have been raped and she never even mentioned it.

It was a bit tense in the cockpit for a few minutes and Sinjin cleared his throat.

"Uh, didn't mean to bring up a bad memory for you, Caitlin," he told her seriously and she sighed.

"It's okay, Sinjin," she said with a slight waver to her voice, unsure if String was angry with her or not.

Hawke caught the waver in her voice and let out a big sigh. "I'm not mad, Caitlin. Just wish you'd told me is all but I can understand why you didn't bring it up."

"You sure as hell better not be mad at her or I'll beat your ass," Sinjin said sternly. "You don't ever blame a woman for not talking about something like that. I've seen what it can do to a lady during my time in Afghanistan, String. Just take solace in the fact it didn't happen and you took out the assholes that tried it."

String felt a bit like a scolded teenager for a few moments and realized what Sinjin said would be exactly what Dom would say to him. "I know, I'd never be angry with Caitlin about something like that. Now fighting over the laundry being sorted right, that's a different thing."

That made Caitlin laugh and Sinjin turned to look at her.

"That was the biggest fight we've had since I moved in with him. He doesn't sort enough, he says I sort the laundry too much."

"Well, hell if that's the worst fight you've had in four months of living together you might as well get hitched," Sinjin said teasingly and String looked over at him and grinned.

The look in his little brother's eyes told him that Sinjin had hit on something his brother was already thinking about. He looked back at Caitlin who just had a surprised look on her face and Sinjin winked at her and she found herself grinning at the man under her helmet.

The refueling for Hawke and Cait was routine but Sinjin was fascinated by it, almost with a childlike wonder on his face as he leaned forward.

"I never, ever thought I'd see a helicopter with the ability to do a midair refueling," Sinjin said in awe and String smiled at him.

"It is pretty cool," String admitted and Caitlin seconded him.

When they began moving over land on the East Coast, Sinjin had a profound feeling of relief pass over him. He was back in his own country again after so long, the country he fought for, bled for, hurt for and gave 16 years of his life for. He closed his eyes for a few minutes and Hawke looked over at his brother in concern.

"You okay over there?"

"Just enjoying the idea of being back in American airspace again," Sinjin told him and opened his eyes to look at his brother. "Sixteen years since I've been in my own country."

Hawke swallowed hard and Caitlin had tears in her eyes.

"Are you going to go through post-deployment assessment?" String asked and Sinjin nodded.

"Yeah, as long as I've been deployed it might be more than just one or two interviews. The General let me know about it though. It'll be part of integration at Knightsbridge. I never really had too many nightmares or trauma issues like some guys. Our CO made sure we got plenty of time to decompress between missions when he could," Sinjin explained. "I think the way we grew up kinda helped me more than some guys."

String understood that, seeing their parents die in the earthquake was not something most folks had to witness. They were raised by a single man and veteran himself who taught them how to deal with pretty much any situation too. Dom took them camping, boating, river rafting, hiking and stuff as kids plus taught them how to fly. He was always making sure they knew how to do what they needed to get by no matter what situation they were in. It had helped both boys when they entered the military.

"You ever finish that degree you were going for?" Sinjin asked.

"Hmm, oh yeah, I finished it up on the GI Bill after I came home. Took me a bit since I was working for the NRO at the same time but I got my applied physics master's degree," String told him.

"Good, mom and dad would have been really happy about that. Obviously, I finished up mine," Singin said with a grin and Hawke laughed. He wouldn't be a Major now if he hadn't. "I finished mine online while on deployment, I had downtime between missions so myself and several other guys did it. It was kinda weird, taking an art class learning about Da Vinci and Klimt in the morning and blowing up terrorists at night."

Both Caitlin and String laughed at that and shook their heads. "I guess that would be a little surreal," Cait said and Sinjin laughed too.

"Just a bit. I remember one night we had been waiting hours to move out and we started quizzing each other for a test the next day. I remember one of the guys saying, 'What Anatolian Peninsula mountain range parallels the Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey?' and another saying 'Hint?' and I said, 'You don't get hints on a test moron, it's the Taurus range.' Then one guy piped up, 'If I didn't know you could kick my ass, I'd say you were a nerd, St. John' and Champ piped up 'I'd rather be a nerd than a dumbass.'"

Hawke laughed and so did Caitlin. "Nerds do get paid more," she quipped and Hawke and Sinjin really laughed at that.

"Well, Sinj, we are about to cross into Californian airspace," Hawke announced and Sinjin leaned forward in his seat a little to take a look. Home. They were almost home.

"We'll be meeting Dom in the Valley of the Gods," he told him.

When they flew over the red rocks dusted with snow, Sinjin remembered them going there as kids with Dom. "Still beautiful here," he said and String agreed with him.

When they hovered over the chimney and started going down into it, Sinjin marveled at it as they descended. It was a unique experience hovering into something like this. It also impressed him at just how steady String was flying Airwolf. He always knew he was a talented pilot but his brother had impressed him during that battle the night before. That hover over the building when he got in was incredibly hard to do.

When they finally landed, and the lights came on, Sinjin shook his head in disbelief. There was a full security system in place, they had solar power and a generator backup for it.

Standing just beyond the area where they landed was Dominic Santini. Sinjin practically ripped off his helmet and jumped out of Airwolf as her rotors continued to slow. He ran to the man who had raised him and Dom opened his arms and the man just collapsed into them.

Caitlin was beside String in the cockpit witnessing their hug and she looked at String happily. "That's a beautiful sight, look at Dom's smile!"

Hawke felt tears gather in his own eyes and reached up to touch Caitlins's cheek. "I'm sorry about earlier, I didn't mean to make you think I was upset at you."

"Oh, that's already water under the bridge, String," she told him.

"I love you, Caitlin," he whispered and kissed her gently.

"I love you too," she said and then moved back to grab her go bag and handed Hawke his. They got out and Dom and Sinjin were coming back to Airwolf.

"Let's get your things and get you home," Dom told him and Sinjin was smiling happily.

He jogged back over to the helicopter and Dom walked up and ran his hand over the nose of the Lady. "Thank you for bringing my family home," he whispered to her.

As they set the security system and headed toward Dom's helicopter the older man reached over and flicked his fingers against Sinjin's beard.

"What the hell is that?"

"Necessary where I was," Sinjin told him. "Don't worry I plan to trim it up."

"Not going to shave it off?" Dom asked incredulously.

"I might look a bit weird, I've had it for 12 years, Dom I'd look weird for a while until my face tanned up."

Dom shook his head at him as they climbed into the JetRanger.

"You at least going to cut that mop on your head?"

"I dunno," he answered.

"What the hell is our military coming to letting you look like that?" Dom complained and String couldn't help but laugh.

"Special forces over there all have beards and long hair to blend in, Dom," String told him.

"I don't have to like it," Dom grumped and Sinjin laughed.

"Should I just go back?"

"Hell no!" Dom immediately answered as he powered up the helicopter.

"So, to the hanger or straight to the cabin?" Dom asked.

"You're welcome at the cabin, I added on to it a few years back so that I had room for Dom and other guests to come up and stay over without having to sleep on the couch. So, we've got plenty of room for you," String told him and Sinjin smiled happily.

"I'd love that," he admitted.


	12. Chapter 13

Arrival – Chapter 13

As the chopper came closer to the mountains where the cabin was, Sinjin grew quiet and started looking out the window more and more. Dom just sat beside him unable to stop smiling.

The view was so familiar and one he'd dreamed of for years. He missed this place, missed the beauty of it, the grandeur of it and the family he'd left behind. As they came around the pass and over the lake, Sinjin's breath caught in his throat.

There it was. The cabin he remembered so fondly. It was larger, he could see where String had added to it but it was still grandpa's old cabin.

It had been left to String and the house in Northridge was supposed to be his but it was destroyed in the earthquake. Instead of rebuilding, the money was put in a trust for him to use when he wanted. He figured it was still being held for him. But this place was a place of solace for both he and String and he was just glad to be able to come back here.

"God, it still looks gorgeous," he said aloud and Hawke smiled from the pilot's seat.

"Yeah, it hasn't changed a whole lot, some of the trees are bigger but I haven't changed much other than the addition," Hawke told him.

They hovered over the dock and lowered. Sinjin saw a dog laying on the porch, it stretched and sat up, then slowly ambled down the stairs.

"You got a dog?"

"Yeah, his name is Scout," String said as he powered down the helicopter and they all started to disembark.

When Sinjin's feet hit the dock he just stood there for a moment and took a deep breath. The scent of pine and fresh earth washed over him and he felt a joy flow over him that he had never experienced before. It was an elation he didn't know was possible. Home. He was home.

String watched his brother for a few moments as Sinjin took it all in. Watched as his eyes shuttered closed and he took a deep breath. He remembered that feeling himself, the feeling of home, the scent of the air and the feel of it. Nothing had ever compared to it until he'd met Caitlin.

Hawke walked up beside his brother. "You ready?"

"Yeah, man, it feels good. The air, I forgot what it felt like to be in this climate," he said as they walked up the dock toward the cabin.

Sinjin smiled when he saw Caitlin greet the dog and its excitement to see her. "Is he your dog or hers?" he asked String and the man laughed.

"He's supposed to be mine but he has great taste in women I guess," he said with a grin and Sinjin and Dom both laughed.

When String opened the door, Sinjin stood in the entryway for a moment just staring into the cabin. "You haven't changed much, have you?" he said in awe, just feeling waves of memories of this place wash over him.

"You okay?" String asked and Sinjin snapped out of his daze and moved further into the room.

"Sorry, yeah. Just a lot of great memories in this place," he said fondly. He walked over to the hearth and looked up at the photos, front and center was one of he and String in Afghanistan years ago before he'd been taken prisoner. He touched the frame and barely remembered himself in that photo. He was such a skinny kid then, they both were and neither knew how over their heads they were going to be in that place.

He spotted another picture of Dom, String and Cait in front of the Steerman with Cait holding up a trophy. She looked so happy she could burst and String had his arm around her waist. Yeah, there had been something there for a long time before just a few months ago, he thought to himself.

Another picture of String with Cait and Scout sitting in front of the cabin caught his eye. Her hair was really short and String was looking at her instead of the camera. How'd she not known how he felt from this picture, Sinjin didn't know. Another picture of he and String as kids with Dom caught his eye and then the last family photo of them with their parents caught his eye. It wasn't as painful to look at as it used to be. Time and distance and Dom's love and support over the years had made the loss just a little easier to bear. Their parents passed saving their lives, he sure hoped that he and String made their sacrifice worth it. He swallowed hard at the thought and turned back to see the others watching him.

He cleared his throat and smiled. "Lots of memories here, wow it just…it really is hard to describe," he admitted and String smiled.

"I felt the same way when I came back home," String commiserated. "You don't realize the things you take for granted until you come back and see it all again."

"Ain't that the truth," Sinjin agreed and Dom laughed.

"Same when me and your dad came back from 'Nam. It was like coming back to a place you know but don't at the same time. So much changed, yet the same," Dom told them and Sinjin nodded.

"So, where should I put my gear?"

"Come on, I'll show you the new addition. Dom usually stays in the room on the right," String told him and led his brother that way.

Caitlin set her go bag under the staircase to take up later and went into the kitchen. "You still gonna help cook?"

"Yep, lemme run back out to the chopper, I have everything in an ice chest," Dom said with a wink and Caitlin laughed.

They had conspired together via text on the way back to fix up a nice homecoming meal for Sinjin.

Meanwhile, String showed the new addition off to his brother.

"You're welcome to stay here as long as you want, Sinj. Cait and I both would be happy to have you while you get settled back in," String told him and Sinjin smiled as he turned to look at his brother.

"Thanks. I don't want to intrude too much but I would like to stay here at least until I get my bearings again," Sinjin admitted to him, not sure how much had changed in the last 16 years since he'd been home.

"Like I said, as long as you want or you need. Cait and I have plenty of privacy upstairs and we are pretty busy most of the time with the hanger and our work with the FIRM and NRO," String told him. "Michael will likely keep you busy a while getting you up to speed on whatever job you guys worked out and I'll need to train you on Airwolf."

"Oh, man, I'm lookin' forward to that!" Sinjin said with a laugh. "That is one amazing bird. Always knew you were the better pilot of the two of us, you just have a natural ability for it. You really impressed me last night. I'm good but you, you were always better."

String felt his face heat just a little from the praise and looked down at the floor for a moment. "Eh, um, thanks."

Sinjin laughed and walked over to his brother and hugged him to him. "You still can't take a compliment worth a shit, can you?"

String laughed as he released him. "I guess not. But you were always a natural leader, Sinj. I was always too hot headed," he told his brother and Sinjin grinned.

"We always made a good team though, I'm really looking forward to working with you again," Sinjin said as he walked back over to his duffle to start unpacking it.

"Me too, I'll let you get unpacked. See you in a few," String told him and Sinjin waved a hand at him.

When Hawke returned to the main section of the house he heard Caitlin and Dom already in the kitchen.

"What are you two up to?" he asked.

"Making a homecoming meal for your brother," Dom told him and Hawke smiled brightly.

"After I feed Scout do you got room for me?"

"Of course!" Caitlin told him.

About twenty minutes later, Sinjin returned to the main living area dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and found the whole family in the kitchen.

"What are you guys up to?" he asked as he settled at the bar facing the kitchen where they were all working.

"Makin' you a homecoming meal, betting you haven't had a good old home cooked meal in a long time," Caitlin told him and Sinjin laughed.

"Years, sweetheart. It's been years since I've had, oh man, Italian food. I think I'm going to start drooling soon," he teased and String grinned at him.

"I'm making your favorite," Dom told him and Sinjin smiled happily.

"Homemade Chicken Piccata, God, I haven't had that since I left for Afghanistan," he said with a look of pure longing on his face that made everyone laugh.

"Cait's handling dessert which is a chocolate pie that will knock your socks off," String told him and Sinjin laughed. His favorite was chocolate so apparently, they'd told Cait that.

"It's my Nanna's recipe, these two love it so I hope you do too," Caitlin told him and Sinjin smiled.

"I'm sure I will, I love chocolate. I'd offer to help but I'm a miserable cook," Sinjin told them but he was enjoying watching them. They obviously cooked often together from the way they moved around the small kitchen.

"I won't wander far but I think I'm going to take a short walk around, it's been so long since I've seen the lake and mountain," Sinjin told them, besides he'd just sit here with his stomach growling if he stayed watching them, it was already smelling heavenly.

"I'll come find you if you aren't back soon," String told him and Sinjin nodded as he headed for the door.

The dog stood up from in front of the hearth and Sinjin looked at him. "Well come on, Scout, let's go for a walk," he told the dog and he wagged his tail as he followed the man outside.

Sinjin headed out onto the dock for a little while, just looking at the water and drinking in the fresh air and much gentler sun than he was accustomed to. The air felt so crisp it made him think of lazy fall days fishing on that lake as a teenager with String and Dom.

He and Scout started to wander a little, walking up to where they used to have the old deer blind and was surprised it was still there. They never hunted as kids, String was a bit too sensitive about that when they were young, so they used it to watch animals rather than hunt them. It was still in excellent shape, obviously String kept it in good repair.

He stepped inside, having to duck a little, remembering he never had to do that in past. He settled down on the bench and just stared out into the clearing. It was beautiful here, just as beautiful as he remembered, maybe even more so.

It was wonderful to relax for a change without worry of ambush or attack or having someone to constantly answer to, or be the one always in charge. It was going to take him a long time to fully relax and maybe he'd never get back to normal but it was nice to know in his mind that he no longer needed to be on constant guard.

Sinjin closed his eyes and just listened to the forest around him. He could hear the rustling of leaves and pine needles as the breeze danced with them and could hear a squirrel chattering in a nearby tree.

He found himself smiling with his eyes closed just listening to the peaceful sounds of the mountain. The screech of an eagle caught his attention and he listened to the call in the distance. He'd missed this more than he realized.

He wasn't sure how long he'd sat there just listening to the sounds of the mountain but soon he picked up the sound of footfalls. His ears had been trained to listen for things like that over the last 16 years but this time he knew he didn't have to worry or wonder. Somehow, he recognized the footfalls of his brother but even then, he felt his body tense wanting to reach for a weapon. He pushed the feeling away and opened his eyes.

"Dinner ready?" he asked without turning toward String and the younger man paused outside the blind. Sinjin had his eyes closed and hadn't even turned toward him but knew he was there. The result of years of being in the field and listening for the enemy and for allies as well.

"Just about, Dom asked me to come find you," String told him. "I figured I'd find you here, you always liked this place."

"Hmm, yeah, still do too," Sinjin answered as he stood up and ducked out of the blind.

"Well come on, I think Dom's outdone himself and Cait whipped up some shrimp scampi for me that smells incredible," String told him as they headed back to the cabin, Scout following along behind.

"So, she's not only pretty and protective but can cook too?" Sinjin asked curiously.

"Yes, she is, honestly Sinj, she's everything I ever wanted in a woman," String admitted to his brother. "She's well, I can't tell you how I feel about her, it's more than just love in some ways."

"In other words, she's it for you," Sinjin told him.

"Yeah," String laughed.

"So, when are you going to give her grandma's ring?"

"I'm not sure yet but soon," String told him honestly.

"Good for you, I've always wanted a sister," Sinjin told him and shoved String's shoulder with his.

Hawke asked him about Sister Helena and Sinjin had started to laugh. He told String that if she hadn't been a nun he probably would have made an even bigger fool of himself with her. He'd really liked the woman, more than he should have. They both were laughing as they arrived back at the cabin about how he was probably going to hell for even thinking about a nun that way.

Dinner was amazing. Sinjin ate so much he was stuffed but man it was good, he hadn't had home cooking in so long and it was all so delicious he just couldn't help himself.

He was kicked back in front of the fireplace with a mug of coffee and Dom was telling him about one of the crazy stunts they did.

String and Cait settled down in the couch, her tucking her legs under her as she sat cuddled up to his brother and Sinjin found himself grinning at them. They sure made a cute couple. Caitlin had impressed the hell out of him when he met her in Egypt and he was glad to see the two of them together.

"So, lemme get this straight, you flew into a barn and String broke his arm and you hurt your back and broke your leg? And that is how Caitlin came to be on the Airwolf team? You just threw her right into a combat mission? Seriously? String must have really had a lot of faith in you, Cait," Sinjin told her.

"Oh, I screwed up and almost blew us up, he was furious at me. I'm sure he was second guessing himself the whole time," she answered.

"If he didn't think you could do it, Cait, sweetheart you would not have been there. Trust me," Sinjin said and Caitlin looked at String as if for confirmation.

Dom just grinned, knowing he'd told the girl the same thing but maybe now she'd believe.

"Is that true?" Caitlin asked.

"Would I have ever put you in danger if I didn't think you could handle it?" String asked seriously.

Caitlin swallowed hard and shook her head.

"There ya go," String told her and rubbed his hand over her knee.

"So, besides watching out for these two, running the hanger and stuff what else have you been up to, Dom?" Sinjin asked.

"Hmm, oh the same old, same old. Still help out with the orphanage sometimes and stuff," Dom told him.

"He's dating a lady named Belinda," Caitlin said with a grin.

"Dating? Really?" Sinjin asked.

"Uh, well yeah, Belinda and I been seeing each other a few years now. She's a secretary at Hightower," Dom told him.

"She's also quite a bit younger too," String teased and Dom gave him a dirty look.

"Quite a bit?" Sinjin asked in surprise.

"Uh, fourteen years is all," Dom said uncomfortably.

"Oh, is that all? Good on you, Dom," Sinjin laughed enjoying teasing Dom. Man, he'd missed the old guy.

They talked until late in the evening and then Dom excused himself to head to his room. He leaned down and gave Sinjin a hug and Cait a kiss on the cheek and String a pat on the shoulder as he headed off down the hall.

"God, I didn't realize how much I missed Dom until I saw him today," Sinjin said once it was just the three of them.

"He was heartbroken when you were taken prisoner, you know he went through hell in Vietnam too, him and dad both had been captured when Dom was blown out of that helicopter. Dad jumped out with him and they got captured. He knew what it was like to be a prisoner so it was killing him knowing you'd been taken," String said softly.

"I know, I thought of that a lot when I got captured. Knowing what they went through sort of made me feel as if I could make it. I'm not gona sugar coat it, String those six months were hell on earth," Sinjin told him. "I saw things…it was why I stayed."

"I understand. I watched all your videos and read your letters multiple times. I know and if it were me, I'd have done the same, Sinj," String told him. At first it had hurt that he'd chosen to stay rather than come home but once he heard the explanations, read why he did it, String understood.

"What you did, Sinjin, was important and necessary. What you accomplished, you have to know it saved lives," Caitlin told him and Sinjin nodded.

"I know, I don't regret it because of that but I do regret missing so much time with String and Dom, I can't get those years back," Sinjin said.

"You're here now," String told him and Sinjin smiled.

"Hooah," Sinjin said raising his mug and String smiled and raised his own.

"Hooah, brother."


	13. Chapter 14

Finding His Place – Chapter 14

The next few weeks were spent getting Sinjin acclimated back to life in America. He also made Dom happy by trimming down his 'combat tactical beard' as they sometimes called them in the Middle East down to something much more stylish. He wasn't ready to shave it all off but he trimmed it down quite a bit and went and got a decent haircut. Not quite a regulation cut but he figured it was close enough.

Sinjin began spending a couple days a week in an Army reintegration program that was specifically for those who spent unusually long deployments. His was one for the record books he supposed. Only a handful of other men had spent as long on deployment as he had as part of Special Ops.

He could be a little jumpy sometimes with really loud noises but that couldn't be helped. It wasn't PTSD it was just learning to relax now. Only time would help with that one. Thankfully both Dom and String understood it and were more help to him than the Army shrink who'd never seen combat.

The rest of his time was getting acquainted with what he'd be doing as part of his new job and doing some work around the hanger too.

The first stunt job that they did, he really enjoyed the technical aspects of it, more than he thought he would. String had been the pilot in the stunt but he'd coordinated on the ground with Caitlin while Dom was in the air filming with the cameraman. Sinjin and Cait had made a good ground team keeping things running smoothly and safely for String and Dom as it was a pretty dangerous stunt.

He could tell Cait was worried but she stayed laser focused on the job and he found that he really admired the redhead who'd stolen his brother's heart. He'd already liked her when he met her in Egypt but now he knew for sure that String had picked the perfect woman for himself. Sinjin was going to keep pestering String about when he was going to marry the girl. They were obviously made for each other.

Sinjin also knew he needed to get out of the cabin, he'd walked in on them making out like a couple teenagers the other night and even though they didn't know he was there because he'd quickly backtracked to his bedroom they sure didn't need him there to get in the way. No couple needs a third wheel around.

Sinjin checked in on the money he had socked away from his time overseas, wasn't like he'd used much of it so he had an actual fortune in savings plus he had one hell of a lot of money in the trust that his parents left him. A feather could have knocked him over when he talked to the man at the bank. He had nearly a million and a half in his trust and over a million in his savings. He'd have a tax bill of course on the trust except his part of his parent's life insurance. Government couldn't touch that money the banker told him. It gave him more than enough to buy a nice house and a decent vehicle with quite a bit left over and no mortgage or car payment would certainly help him rebuild his savings. Plus, he planned on helping String out with his wedding to Cait maybe spring for their honeymoon or something if the kid ever got the balls to ask her.

When they got back to the hanger late that afternoon after wrapping another minor stunt Sinjin asked String if he would take him to a car dealership. "I need to get my own ride, I can't keep borrowing Dom's Jeep all the time or yours," Sinjin told him and String shrugged.

"Sure, which one you want to go to?"

After telling Cait and Dom where they were headed, Sinjin and String headed off together to get him a vehicle. When they returned to the hanger a few hours later, Sinjin had a new silver F-150-Raptor which Dom had fun checking out and then complaining about all the computer 'junk' on new vehicles. That made String and Sinjin roll their eyes at each other behind his back and Caitlin hide a grin in her hand.

Later that evening at the cabin while Caitlin was upstairs in the shower, String looked at his brother on the couch and sighed.

"So, when are you moving out?"

"Hmm? What makes you ask that?"

"You just bought a new truck, just figured you are probably thinking of getting your own place. You're always welcome here just like Dom, ya know?" String told him and Sinjin smiled and took a drink of his beer.

"You never were dumb were you? Yeah, I am planning it but haven't found what I want yet. I don't know if I want to live in the city or find something here in the mountains. I'm kind of enjoying the solitude up here but not sure yet," Sinjin said.

"Well, let me know if you want any help finding a place, we'd all be glad to help out," String told him and Sinjin nodded. He knew his family would support him no matter what. It was incredible being back home and spending time again with String and Dom and now Caitlin. It was the right decision to come home, he was certain of that. Now he just needed to figure out what he was going to do on a personal level for himself. He already enjoyed working at the hanger again and the NRO/FIRM stuff was going to be interesting.

Next week, String was going to start training him on Airwolf. That, he honestly couldn't wait for.

A few days later, Sinjin drove out to meet with a real estate agent, they looked at a few houses he'd looked at online but didn't care for how close the neighbors were. Maybe he would prefer something closer to where grandpa's cabin…or he supposed now String and Cait's place was? He asked the guy about possible places up on the lower side of the mountain at Lake Waini, a little closer to town at Fox Ridge and the man said he'd take a look.

They were standing outside on the sidewalk at the last house he'd toured and the real estate guy, Tom had his laptop out and was taking a look at what was available.

"Oh, what do you know, there are two up for sale, don't always have many up at Fox Ridge it is so popular these days. One is just a tiny place, fishing cabin well more like a shack but still, one bed, one bath. Way, way below your budget but is a piece of junk really. Nice land though, you could build to suit," Tom explained. "The other is a little big for a single guy though and near the top of your budget."

"Yeah, I want a family one day though so it might be good, oh wow, that place is nice," Sinjin said as he looked at the photos on the screen. It was really nice. And even at the top of his budget he had set it still left him a lot of money.

"Maybe I should take a look at them in person," Sinjin suggested and Tom nodded.

"Sure, if you have time now, I don't have another client today. I was just going to do some paperwork this afternoon so we could go up there now if you have time," Tom suggested.

"Works for me, be even faster if we fly up," Sinjin suggested.

They returned to the hanger and Sinjin introduced Tom Miller to Dom, Cait and String.

"You want a second opinion?" String asked and Sinjin laughed.

"Might not hurt," Sinjin said but String's next words surprised him.

"Take Cait, she can give you a woman's opinion," String suggested and Cait looked at String in surprise as well.

"You like how nice the addition to the cabin is don't you? The size of the bathroom and the bedrooms and stuff?" String said then and that made Caitlin start to smile.

"Yeah," Sinjin said wondering what that had to do with a woman's opinion.

"That was Caitlin's excellent suggestions when I was working up the new addition. You'd have had something pretty basic if it had been up to me, she was the one who recommended the heating system and the large guest bath suite rather than just another extra bathroom," String told them. "I figure have her take a look, see what she thinks. You say you want a family one day, who better to see what a house needs for a family than a woman with good taste?"

"Thank you, String. I didn't know you appreciated my taste and opinion so much," Caitlin said with a grin.

"You love me, so of course you have good taste," String said teasingly and Dom threw a grease rag at him and Caitlin slapped him on the arm. Even Tom laughed, thinking they were a rather nice family.

So, Caitlin joined Sinjin and Tom to go visit the two houses. Tom called the Fox Ridge real estate office he worked with and arranged a car to meet them at the small airport there.

About an hour later they were at the first property.

"Well here is the smaller place but it has three acres of land with a half-acre right on the waterfront. You'd need to build but then you could build whatever you want," Tom explained as they got out of the car to hike out to where the small fishing cabin was.

To say it was a cabin was an insult to cabins really, it was more of a hut. He could live in it while they built something but it wouldn't be comfortable. The view was beautiful though and a great spot on the lake. It had a lot of trees that they'd have to take down to allow for a landing dock or pad. If he wanted to build exactly what he wanted it would be a perfect place to do it.

They headed off to the other house and when they drove down the winding drive, Sinjin liked how secluded it was even though it was still very close to town.

"Oh, my," Caitlin whispered when they cleared the last curve up to the cabin and it was spread before them.

"Damn," Sinjin whispered and Tom smiled.

"It is a lovely place and under market value, the former owner lived here for many years but after his wife died he just couldn't live in it anymore. It was their dream house and he just couldn't bear to live in it without her. He's wanting to sell fast," Tom explained as they got out.

The house was gorgeous, built of stone and logs, a mix of Swiss chalet and western classic style with a steep roof. It had beautiful tall windows and three stone chimneys jutting from the roof. The front door was set back from a portico doorway accented by a colonnade of polished logs.

"This is gorgeous!" Caitlin said and Sinjin nodded.

"How big is this place again?" Sinjin asked Tom.

"Four bedrooms, four and a half baths so each bedroom has its own private bath. It has a big open floorplan for the kitchen, living and dining areas, the deck and dock out back is amazing too, all the appliances are brand new and the heating and cooling system is only a year old," Tom explained as they went up to the door.

He entered the code on the lock and let them in. "Electronic door lock," he said as they entered.

They were greeted with gorgeous high cathedral ceilings with polished logs and a shiny wood floor. There was a huge floor to ceiling flagstone fireplace in the living room flanked by floor to ceiling windows with a view of some of the lake and the woods.

They turned and Caitlin gasped. "Oh, what a gorgeous view, this is just about as good as the one at our cabin," Caitlin said.

This was further down the mountain so there was a valley like effect to the lake and trees here unlike their clear unobstructed view of the mountains and sky but just as lovely. The river and waterfall that connected Eagle Lake to Lake Waini made sure the water here was as blue as it was at the top of the mountain.

The kitchen was huge, facing the dining area and then the living room and that fireplace were the focal point of the living area. Caitlin inspected the kitchen, opening cabinets and appliances and Sinjin just grinned at her. He'd never have paid much attention to that stuff. He couldn't cook worth a damn, he never had any reason to other than something over a campfire.

"The kitchen pass muster?" Sinjin asked and Caitlin smiled.

"Yeah, this is real nice. Great appliances and layout, but you don't cook, do you?"

"When have I had time to learn? I went in the Army at 18, been there ever since. Most I know how to do is cook some fish over a campfire or a frozen pizza in the oven from when I was a kid. Other than that, it's been MRE's, restaurants on the odd R&R and cafeteria food at base," Sinjin said and she laughed.

"How the heck did you get all those muscles eating that crap?"

"A lot of hard work," Sinjin laughed. "I guess ya'll can teach me so I don't starve."

"Yes, we'll get on that tonight if you want," Caitlin told him.

They checked out the bedrooms, baths and laundry room which Cait gave a through look and declared it good enough. They then went out to the deck and dock area. It already had a landing pad and boat slip. Sinjin let out a whistle and looked around.

"This is amazing," Sinjin said looking around. It was better than amazing but he wondered if it was too much for just him but like String had said, he did want a future wife and kids.

He could use one of the rooms as a gym and have two guest rooms like String had until that time, it had room for a home office off the living area too.

"Cait, can you hang out here while I talk with Tom?"

"Sure," Caitlin said, wondering if Sinjin was going to buy this place. She didn't know how much he had to spend but Tom had said it was under market value for a fast sale. He might get quite a deal here.

He returned inside where Tom was at the counter with his laptop.

"So, you said it was near the top of my budget but the guy wants to sell fast, if I were to pay cash immediately, no financing that'll save some won't it?" Sinjin asked and Tom smiled.

"Well, yeah it saves quite a bit on closing costs and so on. There will still be some fees of course but not as much as financing it would be," the realtor said and looked up the owner's number on his laptop.

"Let me give him a call and see what he'd be willing to settle for," Tom said and took his phone out.

Sinjin walked back out to the deck where Cait was.

"You going to buy it?"

"Depends on what the owner decides. Tom is calling him now. I really like the place and with it already having a landing pad I think it would be a good place for a future family and it isn't terribly far from you guys either," Sinjin said.

"Do you want to try to look at other places though?" Caitlin asked.

"I looked at four in the city the last few days and know I don't want to live there. Either I build new at the other site, or I buy this place. I don't really want to wait and I need to get out of ya'll's place," Sinjin said.

"No, you are always welcome, Sinjin," she told him and he smiled.

"I know that but you and String need your home to be yours again," Sinjin told her.

"Well, it is up to you of course but it really is a nice house. Seriously, you can afford this place?" Caitlin asked and Sinjin laughed.

"Yeah, I can, even if the owner doesn't wiggle on the price and still have money left over, Cait," Sinjin told her. "I never had to use much of my pay over the years, hell I could buy this house outright without even touching my trust fund or using everything in my savings as it is now."

"Oh, I guess not having to pay for housing for 16 years helps," Cait said with a laugh.

"Yeah, especially with the extra pay for the work I was doing. We got a pretty hefty bonus for the nature of the ops we were on. Plus, the most I spent money on was a good meal here or there over the years or a nice hotel if I got R&R so I'm sitting pretty good," Sinjin told her.

She knew String was in a similar situation with the cabin, not having to pay rent or a mortgage each month he was able to save a lot of money from his work over the years plus he had a trust from his parents he'd never even touched. Dom didn't use a penny of any of the insurance money from their life or home insurance after their deaths for the kids. He raised them on his own pay and what they got in Social Security because they were orphans.

"Okay, well, if you get this place I think you'll really love it here," Cait told him. "It's quiet, beautiful and not far from town or from our cabin."

Tom came out then and told Sinjin that they might have a cash deal. Sinjin stepped back inside to talk with him and make arrangements to meet the following day to get the paperwork rolling. The owner was ready to sell.

When they got back to the hanger and Tom left, in his car, Cait and Sinjin went in to find Dom and String in Dom's office.

"So, how'd it go?" String asked, getting up and giving Caitlin a little kiss in greeting.

"Well, tomorrow I'm meeting Tom at his office to work on the paperwork, I'm buying a cabin near Fox Ridge right on Lake Waini and it is gorgeous," Sinjin told them and Dom smiled.

"Congratulations, son!"

"Thanks, Dom. The place has a nice kitchen so Cait wants me to start cooking lessons tonight, I'm sorry, String," he told his brother who laughed.

"I'm sure she won't let you screw up too badly, so this place is what you want?"

"Yeah. Already has a helicopter landing pad, a great deck, wooded acreage and a dock right on the lake. It is bigger than I need right now but hopefully one day that'll change," he explained.

"That sounds really nice, Sinj," String told him. "One really cool thing, you have nothing to move."

Dom started laughing. "I didn't even think of that, you don't have anything but what's in your duffle bags. I doubt you want anything from your old bedroom."

"Yeah, I think I'm too big for a twin bed and a bit old for a dresser with Iron Man stickers on it," he agreed with a laugh.

"Long as you were a ground soldier you could have mine with the Captain America stickers," String told him and Sinjin laughed even harder.

"I don't think they'd match the woodwork," Sinjin told them.

"Well, then you get to have some fun decorating," Caitlin said with a happy grin.

"Oh, I have a feeling you are going to end up having fun decorating," Sinjin told her.

"Don't give her a free pass unless you mean it, brother," String warned him.

"What do I know about decorating?" Sinjin asked with a shrug. "I'll be glad for the help so that if I ever do bring a woman home she won't look at it and think I'm a moron or colorblind or something."

"As long as you don't decorate with animal furs and trophies, no flashing beer signs and no camo you'd probably do fine," Caitlin told him with a grin and Sinjin laughed as they closed up the hanger for the evening.

Two weeks later, Sinjin was following Caitlin and Marella around a furniture store. "This would look really good in your living room, Sinjin, what do you think?" Caitlin said as she pointed out a nice living room set with wood accents and copper nail heads with a rich brown leather. It was nice but he wasn't sure about leather.

"I like it but how about something more comfortable than leather," he offered and she nodded. He didn't want to have to peel bare legs off leather if he wore a pair of gym shorts around the house.

"No leather…let's see," she and Marella set off ahead of him and he grinned at them as he followed along like a big kid following his mom or something.

"What about this one, same style but in a fabric instead," Marella suggested and Caitlin nodded at it and looked at Sinjin.

"Hmm, that is nice actually," he said walking over to it and running his hand over the fabric. It had a nice feel to it and he liked the rich dark russet color of it.

He walked around and plopped down on the couch and bounced a little on it making Marella roll her eyes a bit.

"Yeah, I like it," he said and stood up. "So, the couch, the loveseat and chair and…" he paused as he looked at a set of tables in another display. He liked the solid look of them, they matched the cabin with such a rustic style. "And those to go with it," he said pointing and Marella looked at them as did Caitlin.

"Maybe there is hope for you after all," Marella muttered as she went over to the tables to give them the once over. Caitlin just laughed as she followed the other woman.

"What about these lamps, Sinj?" Caitlin asked as she pointed out a set of lamps with ironwork bases and lampshades that looked like they were sewn together with leather cord. It made him grin when she called him by String's nickname for him.

"Yeah, I like those," he said thinking they looked rustic but also kind of elegant too.

A sales person came over after finishing up with another customer buying a recliner and apologized for not helping them sooner. They were a little shorthanded today.

"No problem. I'm moving into a new house and the ladies here are helping me pick out furniture so it won't end up looking like a big man cave or something," Sinjin told him with a laugh.

The salesman grinned at him. "I see, what all do you need Mister?"

"Hawke, Sinjin Hawke. And you are going to love me if you get commission because I need everything. And I do mean everything," he told the younger man and the guy's eyes widened.

"Uh, how big of a house?"

"I need bedroom sets for 3 bedrooms, home office, living room, dining room, outdoor deck, do you have that here?"

"Oh, uh, yeah we do. Let me get my clipboard," the guy said and ran off already imagining how happy his wife was going to be. They'd been saving for a vacation and a commission this big was going to make it a nice one.

The guy came back a few minutes later. "All right, Mr. Hawke, where do we start?"

"Well, we've already picked that set there, the lamps over there, the tables over there," he said as the salesman whose name tag said Darren on it ran around and wrote down the numbers he needed for them.

Once they left the furniture store, Sinjin said he was going to head back to the hanger and see if String had time for another lesson with Airwolf and Caitlin and Marella both looked at him oddly.

"What?"

"Sinjin, you need more than furniture or do you plan to sleep without sheets or blankets or take showers and just air dry with no towels?" Caitlin asked with her hands on her hips and he looked at her for a moment.

"Oh, man. Can…can you ladies just do that stuff? I honestly don't care, well I mean I do care but as long as it isn't pink or lacy or something I would be fine with whatever it is. I mean, it's just sheets and towels and stuff."

"And plates, silverware, barware, wall art, rugs, you'll probably want things for the bathroom, cleaning supplies too," Caitlin ticked off on her hands.

"Oh," he said realizing he never really thought about any of those things. They were always just there when he was on base.

"You might also want to pick up a computer and printer for that home office, do you want a TV or something and didn't you say you wanted to make one room a gym?" Marella suggested.

"Err, yeah…okay, ladies, lead on," he said with a sigh and they led him down the sidewalk to another store. It was going to be a long day.


End file.
